“There [is] no innocence more dangerous than the innocence of age.”

“Lust and greed are more gullible than innocence.”

“Knowledge is always worth more than innocence. Or ignorance.”

“Not all games are innocent. Some come dangerously close to cruelty.”

“I had become conscious of my physicality, aware of my presence and open to the ugly truths of the world. At the age of thirteen, I realised that there was a danger in innocence and beauty, and I could not live with both.”

“There are no moments more painful for a parent than those in which you contemplate your child's perfect innocence of some imminent pain, misfortune, or sorrow. That innocence (like every kind of innocence children have) is rooted in their trust of you, one that you will shortly be obliged to betray; whether it is fair or not, whether you can help it or not, you are always the ultimate guarantor or destroyer of that innocence.”