“A marriage of two independent and equally irritable intelligences seems to me reckless to the point of insanity.”

“Loving and trusting an another person is a reckless thing. Even insane.”

“An intelligent lady, a little too mature for recklessness, a little too young for caution.”

“which is better - to be born stupid into an intelligent society or intelligent into an insane one?”

“It was not their irritating assumption of equality that annoyed Nicholai so much as their cultural confusions. The Americans seemed to confuse standard of living with quality of life, equal opportunity with institutionalized mediocrity, bravery with courage, machismo with manhood, liberty with freedom, wordiness with articulation, fun with pleasure - in short, all of the misconceptions common to those who assume that justice implies equality for all, rather than equality for equals.”

“Intelligence and proper education will give you independence of spirit.”