In a democracy such as ours the leading minds seldom achieve a place of permanent influence. And the men who sit in Congress or even in the White House are usually not our leading minds. They are not the thinkers. Still less have they time for reflection.

the heart never grows old.

The only real danger to our country is from within, that we forget our own power to be what we want to be.

None who have always been free can understand the terrible fascinating power of the hope of freedom to those who are not free.

Love can never be a sin. It can be only a blessing. Even if you're not loved in return -- though I can't imagine that -- to love is a proof of life -- indeed, it's the only proof, for once you can't love another human being, you're not alive.

to know how to read is to light a lamp in the mind, to release the soul from prison, to open a gate to the universe." from Pavilion of Women page 292

We learn as much from sorrow as from joy, as much from illness as from health, from handicap as from advantage and indeed perhaps more.