“A man faced death, but when death drew back forgot it until the next time.”

“There are times when thinking about something is the worst possible policy.”

“What I was suddenly aware of was the importance of their being whatever each of them was--cocky and contemptuous, or bothered and beaten--as long as it was something they'd come to in their own way: the importance of being human, in fact. The peace and harmony Uncle Ian and the others claimed to be handing out in fact was death, because without being yourself, an individual, you weren't really alive.”

“One enjoys friendship most when times are good, when the sun shines and the world is kind. But it is the sharing of adversity that knits men together.”

“Have a drink, and try to relax. All right, have another drink. There are times when getting drunk's not a bad idea.”

“I was remembering the things we had done together, the times we had had. It would have been pleasant to preserve that comradeship in the days that came after. Pleasant, but alas, impossible. That which had brought us together had gone, and now our paths diverged, according to our natures and needs. We would meet again, from time to time, but always a little more as strangers; until perhaps at last, as old men with only memories left, we could sit together and try to share them.”

“And though I remember her name I cannot recall her face. All things pass.”