The acceptance of oneself is the essence of the whole moral problem and the epitome of a whole outlook on life. That I feed the hungry, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ -- all these are undoubtedly great virtues. What I do unto the least of my brethren, that I do unto Christ. But what if I should discover that the least among them all, the poorest of all the beggars, the most impudent of all the offenders, the very enemy himself -- that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness -- that I myself am the enemy who must be loved -- what then? Memories, Dreams, Reflections

"Optimism," said Cacambo, "What is that?" "Alas!" replied Candide, "It is the obstinacy of maintaining that everything is best when it is worst! Candide

“When we break down our prison walls and run towards freedom, we are in fact running into the more spacious exercise yard of a bigger prison.” Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

In order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer