A kind of second childhood falls on so many men. They trade their violence for the promise of a small increase of life span. In effect, the head of the house becomes the youngest child.

Yes, you should talk," he said. "Sometimes a sad man can talk the sadness right out through his mouth. Sometimes a killin' man can talk the murder right out of his mouth.

A fallow field is a sin.

He said, "I am a man," and that meant certain things to Juana. It meant that he was half insane and half god.

Perhaps the less we have, the more we are required to brag.

How can I teach my boys the value and beauty of language and thus communication when the President himself reads westerns exclusively and cannot put together a simple English sentence? (John Steinbeck, in a private letter written during the Eisenhower administration)

The discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty.