And finally comes culture, which is entertainment, relaxation, transport out of the pain of living.

When a man says he does not want to speak of something he usually means he can think of nothing else.

George's voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before. 'Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to.

“Do you take pride in your hurt?” Samuel asked. “Does it make you seem large and tragic?” “I don't know.” “Well, think about it. Maybe you're playing a part on a great stage with only yourself as audience.”

Maybe it's true that we are all descended from the restless, the nervous, the criminals, the arguers and brawlers, but also the brave and independent and generous. If our ancestors had not been that, they would have stayed in their home plots in the other world and starved over the squeezed-out soil.

The trash and litter of nature disappears into the ground with the passing of each year, but man's litter has more permanence.

There is one thing pleasantly unconfusing about medicine. The direction and the end are fixed and the patient never works backward.