“Whatever terrific events may inform our lives, it always comes to that in the end; we just want to lie down.”

“God will bring people and events into our lives, and whatever we may think about them, they are designed for the evolution of His life in us.”

“Over and over, we start our own tales, compose our own stories, whether our lives are short or long. Until at last all our beginnings come down to just one end, and the tale of who we are is done.”

“We like to think that we plan what happens to us, but it is chance, surely, that lies behind so many of the great events of our lives -- the meeting with the person with whom we are destined to spend the rest of our days, the receiving of a piece of advice whic influences our choice of career, the spotting of a particular house for sale; all of these may be put down to pur chance, and yet they govern how our lives work out and how happy--or unhappy--we were going to be.”

“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”

“It’s the end. It’s the end of the civilization. We’re going down.No, it’s sure not too attractive. Lenticels.I just hope my kids don’t live to see the last days. The things burning and people living in cellars.Violet.The only thing worse than the thought it may all come tumbling down is the thought that we may go on like this forever.”