One of the hardest conditions of boyhood is the almost continuous strain put upon the powers of invention by the constant and harassing necessity for explanations for every natural act.

An ideal wife is any woman who has an ideal husband.

Gossip is never fatal until it is denied.

Whatever does not pretend at all has style enough.

Boyhood is the longest time in life for a boy. The last term of the school-year is made of decades, not of weeks, and living through them is like waiting for the millennium.

The only good in pretending is the fun we get out of fooling ourselves that we fool somebody.

Take your work seriously but never take yourself seriously and do not take what happens either to yourself or your work seriously.

Destiny has a constant passion for the incongruous.

The only safe male rebuke to a scornful female is to stay away from her - especially if that is what she desires.

The understanding smile of an old wife to her husband is one of the loveliest things in the world.

It is love in old age, no longer blind, that is true love. For the love's highest intensity doesn't necessarily mean it's highest quality.

Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.

He fell as gently as a tree falls. There was not even any sound..

Boys don’t cry—or at least that’s what everybody’s supposed to believe.

Waking up to who you are requires letting go of who you imagine yourself to be

A great democratic revolution is taking place in our midst.

Sometimes I'll hit a note and sometimes I don't. Why not at least try?

Lady Maccon cogitated. She would like to encourage this new spirit of social-mindedness. If Felicity needed anything in her life, it was a cause. Then she might stop nitpicking everyone else.

I have a lot of stuff. Slowly I'm getting all my materials organized.

[on Thoreau:] For not a particle of respect had he to the opinions of any man or body of men, but homage solely to truth itself.

Joan organizes our social life, and on weekends I follow her around.