Among the many problems which beset the novelist, not the least weighty is the choice of the moment at which to begin his novel.

For a young man to start his career with a love affair with an older woman was quite de rigueur ... Of course, it must not go on for too long. An apprenticeship was a very different thing from a career.

What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful.

Still, no gardener would be a gardener if he did not live in hope.

There's no beginning to the farmer's year, / Only recurrent patterns on a scroll / Unwinding...

Growth is exciting; growth is dynamic and alarming.

The true solitary ... will feel that he is himself only when he is alone; when he is in company he will feel that he perjures himself, prostitutes himself to the exactions of others; he will feel that time spent in company is time lost; he will be conscious only of his impatience to get back to his true life.