The only thing very noticeable about Nebraska was that it was still, all day long, Nebraska.

I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived.

Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.

Human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half the time greedily seeking them, and half the time pulling away from them.

The great fact in life, the always possible escape from dullness, was the lake. The sun rose out of it, the day began there; it was like an open door that nobody could shut. The land and all its dreariness could never close in on you. You had only to look at the lake, and you knew you would soon be free.

People can be lovers and enemies at the same time, you know.

Prayers said by good people are always good prayers