I am quite likely to re-act to the opposite extreme - to feel rapturously that the world is beautiful and mere existence something to thank God for. I suppose our 'blues' are the price we have to pay for our temperament. 'The gods don't allow us to be in their debt.' They give us sensitiveness to beauty in all its forms but the shadow of the gift goes with it.

Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing.

Tears don't hurt like the ache does.

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

As a rule, I am very careful to be shallow and conventional where depth and originality are wasted.

If any person wants to see clearly just how much she has changed - whether for better or worse - let her revisit after some lapse of time any place where she has ones lived. She will meet her former self at every turn, with every familiar face, in every old recollection ... She will see how much she has gained in some respects, how much she has lost - irretrievably lost - in others.

But was anything in life, Anne asked herself wearily, like one's imagination of it?