No matter how sexually attracted a man might be toward other men, or a woman toward other women, and no matter how close the bonds of affection and friendship might be within same-sex couples, there is no act of court or Congress that can make these relationships the same as the coupling between a man and a woman.

A character is what he does, yes - but even more, a character is what he means to do.

Humans invent an imaginary lover and put that mask over the face of the body in their bed. That is the tragedy of language my friend. Those who know each other only through symbolic representations are forced to imagine each other. And because their imagination is imperfect, they are often wrong.

In a way she actually preferred Peter to other people because of this. He always acted out of intelligent self-interest.

I've got a pretty good idea what children are, and we're not children. Children can lose sometimes, and nobody cares.

Quim," she said, "don't ever try to teach me about good and evil. I've been there, and you've seen nothing but a map.

Today, Mr. Darcy is a vampire.