“Rules and school are tools for fools! I don't give two mules for rules.”

“You must remember, family is often born of blood, but it doesn't depend on blood. Nor is it exclusive of friendship. Family members can be your best friends, you know. And best friends, whether or ...”

“Is this what family is like: the feeling that everyones connected, that with one piece missing, the whole things broken?”

“Children are capable of such open rudeness.”

“She announced her age right away, for children consider their ages every bit as important as their names.”

“Something about this made Reynie uneasy. Had he done so badly? Was this meant to test his courage? He did as he was told, closing his eyes and bracing himself as best he could."Why are you flinchin...”

“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for t...”

“You know Balbec so well - do you have friends in the area?'I have friends wherever there are companies of trees, wounded but not vanquished, which huddle together with touching obstinacy to implore...”

“Things that matter are not easy. Feelings of happiness are easy. Happiness is not. Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying youre friends is easy. Being friends is not.”

“I could never be your godAnd I don't even think I want the job anymore”

“A stupid leader is like a dog whos in love with his own voice. He will bark incessantly believing that people admire his tune. A wise leader gets his point across in as few words as possible and th...”

“A leader, without wisdom, is dangerous. A wise person, without leadership, is useless. But if they work together, they are unstoppable.”

“A man who tells you to follow him will turn his followers into his company, while a true leader who does not tell you to follow him, will sit in the company of his followers.”

“In a rational society we would want our presidents to be teachers. In our actual society we insist they be cheerleaders.”

“I discovered that all these rulers were men. What they had in common was an avaricious and distorted personality, a never-ending appetite for money, sex and unlimited power. They were men who sowed...”