“If I am attempting to describe him, it is in order not to forget him. It is sad to forget a friend. Not every one has had a friend.”

“To forget a friend is sad. Not every one has had a friend. And if I forget him, I may become like the grown−ups who are nolonger interested in anything but figures..”

“For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly. I have suffered too much grief in setting down these memories. Six years have already passed since my friend went away from me, with his sheep. If I try to describe him here, it is to make sure that I shall not forget him. To forget a friend is sad. Not every one has had a friend. And if I forget him, I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures.”

“To forget a friend is sad. Not everyone has had a friend.”

“To forgive is not to forget. The merit lies in loving in spite of the vivid knowledge that one that must be loved is not a friend. There is not merit in loving an enemy when you forget him for a friend. ”

“Every novel is like this, desperation, a frustrated attempt to save something of the past. Except that it still has not been established whether it is the novel that prevents man from forgetting himself or the impossibility of forgetfulness that makes him write novels.”