“The thought of him was a smoky cloud from hell that moved and crept in her head.”

“[From Flowering Judas]She is, her comrades tell her, full of romantic error, for what she defines as cynicism in them is merely 'a developed sense of reality'.”

“[From Old Mortality]...religion put claws on Aunt Sally and gave her a post to whet them on.”

“[From The Old Order]The Grandmother always treated her animal friends as if they were human beings temporarily metamorphosed . . .”

“The whole effort for the past one hundred years has been to remove the moral responsibility from the individual and make him blame his own human wickedness on his society, but he helps to make his society, you see, and he will not take his responsibility for his part in it.”

“Mrs. Treadwell moved away again, from the threat of human nearness, of feeling. If she stayed to listen, she knew she would weaken little by little, she would warm up in spite of herself, perhaps in the end identify herself with the other, take on his griefs and wrongs, and if it came to that, feel finally guilty as if she herself had caused them; yes, and he would believe it too, and blame her freely. It had happened too often, could she not learn at last? All of it was no good, neither for confidant nor listener. There was no cure, no comfort, tears change nothing and words can never get at the truth. No, don't tell me any more about yourself, I am not listening, you cannot force my attention. I don't want to know you, and I will not know you. Don't try to come nearer.”

“[From Old Mortality]The woman in the picture. . . was only a ghost in a frame, and a sad, pretty story from old times.”