“Seven times have I despised my soul: The sixth time when she despised the ugliness of a face, and knew not that it was one of her own masks.”

“Seven times I have despised my soul:The first time when I saw her being meek that she might attain height.The second time when I saw her limping before the crippled.The third time when she was given to choose between the hard and the easy, and she chose the easy.The fourth time when she committed a wrong, and comforted herself that others also commit wrong.The fifth time when she forbode for weakness, and attributed her patience to strength.The sixth time when she despised the ugliness of a face, and knew not that it was one of her own masks.And the seventh time when she sang a song of praise, and deemed it a virtue.”

“Idleness was so often despised. And yet it was on idleness, she knew, that one touched meaning and peace.”

“My unhealthy affection for my second daughter has waned. Now I despise all my seven children equally.”

“I despised my arrival on this earth and I despise my departure; it is a tragedy.”

“He had despised the sorcerer, thinking him one of those mewling souls who forever groaned beneath burdens of their own manufacture.”