“I owe much to my friends; but, all things considered, it strikes me that I owe even more to my enemies. The real person springs life under a sting even better than under a caress.”

“Old hands soil, it seems, whatever they caress, but they too have their beauty when they are joined in prayer. Young hands were made for caresses and the sheathing of love. It is a pity to make them join too soon.”

“One completely overcomes only what one assimilates.”

“What would a narrative of happiness be like? All that can be described is what prepares it, and then what destroys it.”