It is always better to live the truth than to live a lie.

They say time heals all wounds, but that presumes the source of the grief is finite

She had loved him for such a long time, she thought. How was it that she did now know him at all?

wanting what you could not have led to misery and madness

Astriola. That IS demon pox. You had evidence that demon pox existed and you didnt mention it to me! Et tu, Brute!' He rolled up the paper and hit Jem over the head with it.

She had never imagined she had the power to make someone else so happy. And not a magical power, either--a purely human one.

I thought... that we could at least talk about books.

Lies and secrets, Tessa, they are like a cancer in the soul. They eat away what is good and leave only destruction behind.

Jem put the full force of himself into each smile, so that he seemed to be smiling with his eyes, his heart, his whole being.

Being Jem, Tessa reflected, must be a great deal like being the owner of a thouroughbred dog that liked to bite your guests. You had to have a hand on his collar constantly.

You had to know a person well to make them laugh like that.

It had ever, as I told the reader, been one of the singular blessings of my life, to be almost every hour of it miserably in love with some one....

America is big enough to accommodate all their dreams.

Mathematician need only peace of mind and occasionally, paper and pencil.

One little person, giving all of her time to peace, makes news. Many people, giving some of their time, can make history.

San Francisco would be a good location for a murder mystery.

Charity is unconscious of itself, there is no accumulation first and then distribution. It is like the flower - natural, open, spontaneous.

There are a lot of people who are eager to assign blame. I think we're [USA] eager to try and find some solutions. One thing that would help would be comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Learn to say no, with an eye to saying yes to something else.

Ever hear that expression, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times"? That's what high school was like for me. Both of those - all the time.

Thus commerce, though in itself a moral nullity, has had a considerable influence in tempering the human mind....he trades with the same countries ...(that he) would have gone to war with.