“The offhand decision of some commonplace mind high in office at a critical moment influences the course of events for a hundred years.”

“Everybody is so talented nowadays that the only people I care to honor as deserving real distinction are those who remain in obscurity.”

“It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.”

“So do flux and reflux--the rhythm of change--alternate and persist in everything under the sky.”

“Ma qualcuno potrebbe chiedermi: dove si trovava l'angelo custode di Tess? Esisteva una provvidenza che tutelasse la sua ingenua fiducia? Forse, come quell'altra divinità di cui parlava l'iro...”