"His aunt Louisa asked him if he had made peace with God, and he replied, 'I did not know we had ever quarreled'."

On the death and dying of Henry David Thoreau.

"Knowledge is important, but much more important is the use toward which it is put. This depends on the heart and mind of the one who uses it."

"It was a - an obstacle. A disability. An injury, not just to his brain, but to his thinking."

"People acted, in short, by projecting their desires. Well - but of course. Wasn't that the point?"

"Amazing how quickly people developed sets of habits. They could not do without them, Frank had concluded. Even his improvised life was full of them. It might be said that now he had an array of habits that he chose from, a kind of menu."