Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can

...freedom being the sauce best beloved by the boyish soul.

I can get on with wild beasts first-rate; but men rile me awfully.

There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind.

All the worse for the undeniable talent which hides the evil so subtly and makes the danger so delightful.

it was easier to do a friendly thing than it was to stay and be thanked for it.

I’m not like the rest of you; I never made any plans about what I’d do when I grew up; I never thought of being married, as you did. I couldn’t seem to imagine myself anything but stupid little Beth, trotting about at home, of no use anywhere but there. I never wanted to go away, and the hard part now is leaving you all. I’m not afraid, but it seems as if I should be homesick for you even in heaven.