“Death smoothes the rough edges, obliterates the cruelties of the deceased. It makes heroes of monsters.”

“Is it not love that knows how to make smooth things rough and rough things smooth?”

“If there be light, then there is darkness; if cold, heat; if height, depth; if solid, fluid; if hard, soft; if rough, smooth; if calm, tempest; if prosperity, adversity; if life, death.”

“But I think parents aren't teachers anymore. Parents -- or a whole lot of us, at least -- lead by mouth instead of by example. It seems to me that if a child's hero is their mother or father -- or even better, both of them in tandem -- then the rough road of learning and experience is going to be smoothed some. And every little bit of smoothing helps, in this rough old world that wants children to be miniature adults, devoid of charm and magic and the beauty of innocence.”

“There are no heroes...in life, the monsters win.”

“Losing is like knowing that, in the movie scene where a thousand die but the hero lives, you're one of the obliterated.”