“The damps of autumn sink into the leaves and prepare them for the necessity of their fall; and thus insensibly are we, as years close around us, detached from our tenacity of life by the gentle pre...”

“Many laws as certainly make bad men, as bad men make many laws.”

“What is reading but silent conversation.”

“When a cat flatters ... he is not insincere: you may safely take it for real kindness.”

“Cats ask plainly for what they want.”

“Nothing is pleasanter to me than exploring in a library.”

“Im not a woman you bring home to Mother, pick out china patterns with, or Mary forefend, breed. Ive seen a chunk of the universe, true, but theres still so much more to see. I doubt Ill ever cure t...”

“My hope, my heaven, my trust must be,My gentle guide, in following thee.”

“Amory took to writing poetry on spring afternoons, in the gardens of the big estates near Princeton, while swans made effective atmosphere in the artificial pools, and slow clouds sailed harmonious...”