Suffering is by no means a privilege, a sign of nobility, a reminder of God. Suffering is a fierce, bestial thing, commonplace, uncalled for, natural as air. It is intangible; no one can grasp it or fight against it; it dwells in time -- is the same thing as time; if it comes in fits and starts, that is only so as to leave the sufferer more defenseless during the moments that follow, those long moments when one relives the last bout of torture and waits for the next.

A diplomat these days in nothing, but a head waiter who is allowed to sit down occasionally.

They say men are molded out of faults, and for the most, become much more the better; for being a little bad. [Measure For Measure]

The shame that arises from praise which we do not deserve often makes us do things we should otherwise never have attempted.

So-called professional mathematicians have, in their reliance on the relative incapacity of the rest of mankind, acquired for themselves a reputation for profundity very similar to the reputation for sanctity possessed by theologians.

A mother who is really a mother is never free.

The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine.

Truth is the summit of being; justice is the application of it to affairs.

We are Divine enough to ask and we are important enough to receive.

The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.