“And is not the lute that soothes your spirit the very wood that was hollowed with knives?”

“Is not the lute that soothes your spirit the very wood that was hollowed with knives.”

“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being,the more joy you can contain.Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”

“I knelt and opened up my lute case. Moving the lute aside, I pressed the lid of the secret compartment and twisted it open. I slid Threpe's sealed letter inside, where it joined the hollow horn with Nina's drawing and a small sack of dried apple I had stowed there. There was nothing special about the dried apple, but in my opinion if you have a secret compartment in your lute case and don't use it to hide things, there is something terribly, terribly wrong with you.”

“Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either.”

“You must converse much with the field and the woods if you would imbibe such health into your mind and spirit as you covet for your body”