The only real distinction at this dangerous moment in human history and cosmic development has nothing to do with medals and ribbons. Not to fall asleep is distinguished. Everything else is mere popcorn.

There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.

Is love supposed to ruin you? It seems to me you shouldn't destroy yourself out of life for purposes of love--or what good is it?

Because I have become such a solitary, and not in the Aristotelian sense: not a beast, not a god. Rather, a loner troubled by longings, incapable of finding a suitable language and despairing at the impossibility of composing messages in a playable key--as if I no longer understood the codes used by the estimable people who wanted to hear from me and would have so much to reply if only the impediments were taken away.

The main reason for rewriting is not to achieve a smooth surface, but to discover the inner truth of your characters.

Fidelity is for phonographs

I have begun in old age to understand...that we seldom if ever realize how generous we are to ourselves, and just how stingy with others.