“We naturally try to forget our personal tragedies, serious or trifling, as soon as possible (even something as petty as being scorned or disdained by a stranger on a street corner). We try not to carry these things over to tomorrow. It is not strange, therefore, that the whole human race is trying to put Hiroshima, the extreme point of human tragedy, completely out of mind.”

“The people of Hiroshima went to work at once to restore human society in the aftermath of the great atomic flood. They were concerned to salvage their own lives, but in the process they also salvaged the souls of the people who have brought the atomic bomb.”

“Hiroshima is like a nakedly exposed wound inflicted on all mankind.”

“Right now you're about the least attractive Bird I've ever seen...But I'll sleep with you just the same. I haven't been fastidious about morality since my husband committed suicide; besides, even if you intend to have the most disgusting kind of sex with me, I'm sure I'll discover something genuine in no matter what we do.”

“It takes a person of great care and insight to watch for any abnormality in the green grass even while it grows abundantly and healthily.”

“We are much too tolerant of the moral aberration of statesmen and bureaucrats.”

“Understanding comes hard to persons of high rank who are accustomed to phony lifestyles that involve no daily work.”