“The human race is all the same when it comes to romantic relations,' said the Major. 'A startling absence of impulse control combined with complete myopia.”

“He cursed himself for having assumed the weather would be sunny. Perhaps it was the result of evolution, he thought--some adaptive gene that allowed the English to go on making blithe outdoor plans...”

“...as I get older, I find myself insisting on my right to be philosophically sloppy.”

“We are all small-minded people, creeping about the earth grubbing for our own advantage and making the very mistakes for which we want to humiliate our neighbors.”

“You Anglo-Saxons have largely broken away from such dependence on family. Each generation feels perfectly free to act alone and you are not afraid.”

“You are a wise man, Major, and I will consider your advice with great careand humility." He finished his tea and rose from the table to go to his room. "But I must ask you, do you really understand...”

“Education doesnt make you happy. Nor does freedom. We dont become happy just because were free if we are. Or because weve been educated if we have. But because education may be the means by which...”

“Because I trust in the ever-changing climate of the heart. (At least, today I feel that way.) I think it is necessary to have many experiences for the sake of feeling something; for the sake of bei...”

“The past has no power over the present moment.”

“I feel like every project I work on is a dream project, so long as I am learning.”

“Love, too, has to be learned.”

“Every pain is a lesson.”

“Students view any teacher who does not bury them under work as some sort of mentally impaired kitten to be kicked aside.”

“It is said, in a fire, everyone runs away from it save for the fireman who run towards it. When dealing with students, be the fireman.”

“Openness is something any teacher strives to instill in his or her students.”