I began to feel that if religion was either an illusion or a revelation, it was simpler to accept it as an illusion.

There is a point at which curiosity becomes unbearable, when it becomes an obsession, like hunger.

Well, that was life. It was an old tree, and the old passed on. Probably they did not mind. There came a time when all sap ran slowly, and the peace of age with all things behind it merged easily into the peace of death. The difficult thing was to be young.

Peace is not a passive but an active condition, not a negation but an affirmation.

Politics is still the man's game. The women are allowed to do the chores, the dirty work, and now and then--but only occasionally--one is present at some secret conference or other. But it's not the rule. They can go out and get the vote, if they can and will; they can collect money, they can be grateful for being permitted to work. But that is all.

[On the Irish:] Strange race ... Don't know what they want, but want it like the devil.

It's the safety valve of middle life, and the solace of age.