Evil, in this system of ethics, is that which tears apart, shuts out the other person, raises barriers, sets people against each other.

The relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means an antagonistic one. Commitment is healthiest when it is not without doubt but in spite of doubt.

Many people suffer from the fear of finding oneself alone, and so they don't find themselves at all.

We must always base our commitment in the center of our own being, or else no commitment will be ultimately authentic.

The mature person becomes able to differentiate feelings into as many nuances, strong and passionate experiences, or delicate and sensitive ones, as in the different passages of music in a symphony. Unfortunately, many of us have feelings limited like notes in a bugle call.

The poet, like the lover, is a menace on the assembly line.

Recall how often in human history the saint and the rebel have be the same person. (p. 35)