“Vanity is so firmly anchored in man's heart that a soldier, a camp follower, a cook or a porter will boast and expect admirers, and even philosophers want them; those who write against them want to enjoy the prestige of having written well, those who read them want the prestige of having read them, and perhaps I who write this want the same thing.”

“Even those who write against fame wish for the fame of having written well, and those who read their works desire the fame of having read them.”

“A writer writes to a great extent to be read (let's admire those who say they don't, but not believe them).”

“I don't think God is so jealous about our worship of Him that He will want to separate those who serve His purposes, serve His goodness, because they have read a book, even one written by an atheist, and have been moved, or because they have wanted to be fair all their lives, but have never stepped in a church, from those who have heard God's words in church or read His words in the Bible and become convinced by them.”

“In the past few years I've assigned books to be read before a student attends one of my weeklong seminars. I have been astonished by how few people -- people who supposedly want to write -- read books, and if they read them, how little they examine them.”

“We'll erase those who want to use us for our family prestige......and erase those girls who try to apply their patronizing psychology theories on us......and those stupid adults who only judge us by our outward appearances....We'll erase them all from our consciousness.”