The universe is transformation: life is opinion. Book IV

I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one. . . . Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil. . . . There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill? East Of Eden

Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education. The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

"For the time being he must remain calm, he must show patience and the greatest consideration so that his family could bear the unpleasantness that he, in his present condition, was forced to impose on them." Metamorphosis and Other Stories