The measure of a person's disposition is this: ... how great is the distance between his understanding and his actions. Basically we all understand the highest. A child, the simplest person, and the wisest all understand the highest. ... But what makes the difference is whether we understand it at a distance—so that we do not act accordingly, or close at hand—so that we act accordingly and "cannot do otherwise." Works of Love

Pure and complete sorrow is as impossible as pure and complete joy. War and Peace

The basis of optimism is sheer terror. The Picture of Dorian Gray

Be straightforward. Look at things like a man, like a human being, like a citizen, like a mortal. Book IV