“Their hearts began to swell with the pity that one feels for a fellow being who has lost both his way and his sense of purpose.”

“These are dark radiances. They have no suspicion that they are to be pitied. Certainly they are so. He who does not weep does not see. They are to be admired and pitied, as one would both pity and admire a being at once night and day, without eyes beneath his lashes but with a star on his brow.”

“The Master said, “A true gentleman is one who has set his heart upon the Way. A fellow who is ashamed merely of shabby clothing or modest meals is not even worth conversing with.”(Analects 4.9)”

“The purpose of a short story is ... that the reader shall come away with the satisfactory feeling that a particular insight into human character has been gained, or that his (or her) knowledge of life has been deepened, or that pity, love or sympathy for a human being is awakened. ”

“The most important acts, both for the one who accomplishes them and for his fellow creatures, are those that have remote consequences.”

“A fanatic is a man who, when he's lost sight of his purpose, redoubles his effort.”