“In our age, self-indulgence and self-destruction, rather than self-sacrifice, are the foundations for new heroic myths.”

“As for self-deceit, most people find it as essential for survival as air. You rarely indulge in it.”

“Always, the eye sees more than the mind can comprehend, and we go through life self-blinded to much that lies before us. We want a simple world, but we live in a magnificently complex one, and rather than open ourselves to it, we perceive the world through filters that make it less daunting.”

“In self-defense and in defense of the innocent, cowardice is the only sin.”

“You've always mistaken my absolute self-assurance for profound thought.”

“If allowed to be, the heart is self-policing, and a reasonable measure of guilt guards against corruption.”

“Because God is never cruel, there is a reason for all things. We must know the pain of loss; because if we never knew it, we would have no compassion for others, and we would become monsters of self-regard, creatures of unalloyed self-interest. The terrible pain of loss teaches humility to our prideful kind, has the power to soften uncaring hearts, to make a better person of a good one.”