gossip, after it reaches a certain point of insult and falsehood, becomes a source of amusement to its victims.

Convictions do not imply reasons.

By some mysterious method, Susan Carr's gossip gave the listener a gentler feeling towards his kind. When she spoke of her neighbors' faults, one knew that somehow they were simply virtues gone to seed.

Self-sacrifice which denies common sense is not a virtue. It's a spiritual dissipation.

moral vanity is the snare of good people.

One must desire something to be alive; perhaps absolute satisfaction is only another name for Death.

nothing is as conventional as adolescence.