I am indebted to the cat for a particular kind of honorable deceit, for a greater control over myself, for a characteristic aversion to brutal sounds, and for the need to keep silent for long periods of time.

It is not a bad thing that children should occasionally, and politely, put parents in their place.

In the matter of furnishing, I find a certain absence of ugliness far worse than ugliness.

beautiful December grapes, blue as plums, every grape a little skinful of sweet, tasteless water

By an image we hold on to our lost treasures, but it is the wrenching loss that forms the image, composes, binds the bouquet.

I went to collect the few personal belongings which...I held to be invaluable: my cat, my resolve to travel, and my solitude.

Sincerity is not a spontaneous flower nor is modesty either.