“The feeling of having shared in a common peril is one element in the powerful cement which binds us.”

“There is one thing the power of God and the power of Satan have in common: Neither can influence us unless we allow them to.”

“For us of course the shared activity and therefore the companionship on which Friendship supervenes will not often be a bodily one like hunting or fighting. It may be a common religion, common studies, a common profession, even a common recreation. All who share it will be our companions; but one or two or three who share something more will be our Friends. In this kind of love, as Emerson said, Do you love me? means Do you see the same truth? - Or at least, "Do you care about the same truth?" The man who agrees with us that some question, little regarded by others, is of great importance can be our Friend. He need not agree with us about the answer.”

“religion, the most powerful of the elements which have entered into the formation of moral feeling, having almost always been governed either by the ambition of a hierarchy, seeking control over every department of human conduct, or by the spirit of Puritanism.”

“We share a common enemy, but does that make us friends?”

“the table of elements does not contain one of the most powerful elements that make up our world, and that is the element of surprise.”