“Where had he been? Drinking, obviously. Then she started cataloging all the ways he was worthless. On fool impulse, as his most potent available argument against Lily, Bud stuck his hands into his ...”

“The flame of urgent coupling burned hottest against the woman, no matter how romantic and high and heartsick the anguish of the man might be pitched in retrospect.”

“Still, Luce held firm to the belief that quiet and solitude were good for you, offering peace, or at least hope for peace.”

“You try your best to love the world despite obvious flaws in design and execution and you take care of whatever needy things present themselves to you during your passage through it. Otherwise you'...”

“How embarrassing that she ever did something that silly. But, good God, she was seventeen. At that age, we're mostly high-pitched and crazy. All urgent chemicals raging around the blood course. And...”

“His best talent had yet to be determined, unless you counted unrealized potential.”

“You have to stretch your soul to find your potential strength.”

“All we are not stares back at what we are.”

“We must become what we wish to teach.”

“There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents.”

“Every human being has talents that are just waiting to be uncovered.”

“How can we explain such inclinations? They are forces within us that come from a deeper place than conscious words can express.They draw us to certain experiences and away from others.”