Always the same. Now a spark of hope flashes up, then a sea of despair rages, and always pain; always pain, always despair, and always the same.

Man by violating his own feelings becomes cruel. And how deeply seated in the human heart is the injunction not to take life.

A Christian cannot help being free, because in the pursuit and attainment of his object, no one can either hinder or retard him.

It's like scarlet fever: one has to get it over." "Then one should invent a way of inoculating love, like vaccination.

Every time I tried to express my most heartfelt desires to be morally good I met with contempt and ridicule; and as soon as I would give in to vile passions I was praised and encouraged. Ambition, love of power, self-interest, lechery, pride, anger, vengeance-all of it was highly esteemed.

Rivers are places that renew our spirit, connect us with our past, and link us directly with the flow and rhythm of the natural world.

In a writer there must always be two people - the writer and the critic.