Life without emotions is like an engine without fuel.

the boys had learned that laughter stilled anxiety. It cleared away mystery. If you could laugh at something, it erased its importance.

A person without a memory is either a child or an amnesiac. A country without a memory is neither a child nor an amnesiac, but neither is it a country.

Once you start asking questions, innocence is gone.

to move the wheels of justice is a ponderous business.

The reminder that there are people who have worse troubles than you is not an effective pain-killer.

It's not good to make sentimental journeys. You see the differences instead of the sameness.