“...what maiden knows how the world is skewed to spare any testing of her virtue?”

“The soul that acquires the virtue of forgiveness won't find any more trouble. No matter what happens, he will know how to run his life ...”

“Wisdom is knowing what to do next; Skill is knowing how to do it, and Virtue is doing it.”

“The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do.”

“Poetry is like an innocent young maiden who is extremely beautiful, and whom many other maidens, who are the other fields of knowledge, are careful to enrich, polish, and adorn, and she must be served by all of them. Her alchemy is such that the person who knows how to treat her will turn her into purest gold of inestimable value...she should not be allowed in the company of scoundrels or the ignorant mob incapable of knowing or appreciating the treasures that lie within her.”

“Her eyes are wide and steady beneath the brim of her floppy cap. How far out of infancy do we lose this gaze, with its utter absence of expectation or prejudice? What is it like to simply see what is before you, without the skew of context?p 342”