Giving words [is] an act of lovers.

To good and true love fear is forever affixed.

We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us.

A habit does not a monk make.

Tell the truth and shame the devil.

A child is not a vase to be filled, but a fire to be lit.

Keep running after a dog and he will never bite you.

If the skies fall, one may hope to catch larks.

If you wish to avoid seeing a fool, you must first break your mirror

You have no obligation under the sun other than to discover your real needs, to fulfill them, and to rejoice in doing so.

Ignorance is the mother of all evils.

Ask nothing from your running, and you'll get more than you ever imagined!

I like it better when my room is pitch black, when the dark is so thick it swallows me up and I feel as if I could drown in it.

That was the day I made up my mind, I am the voice of those who don't have the strength to cry.

Leaders of men are later remembered less for the usefulness of what they have achieved than for the sweep of their endeavors.

I watched her departure, as one watches a sunset. She went like a radiance through the dark wood, which was henceforth bright to me, from simply knowing that such a creature was in it.

As far as which writers embody this form of gentle power - Tobias Wolff, for sure. His persona and his writing both share an easy, capacious confidence that says he has faith in his readers.

Decent responsible parents are a royal pain- that's how you know when you have them [such parents].

I'm completely optimistic - I know the end is coming!

Neither seek nor avoid; take what comes. It is liberty to be affected by nothing. Do not merely endure; be unattached.

We are writing stories with light and darkness, motion and colors. It is a language with its own vocabulary and unlimited possibilities for expressing our inner thoughts and feelings.