“And I saw in them a hope...A hope that it was possible to have secrets, to mask one's true nature...and yet still to walk among men. ”

“Maybe I had a "secret identity", but then when you think about it, don't we all? A part of ourselves very few people ever get to see. The part we think of as "me". The part that deals with the big stuff. Makes the real choices. The part everything else is a reflection of.”

“She said things that'd have sounded like cliches--but when they're said by the woman you love in the middle of the night, it's different.I said things that sounded like cowboy-movie junk, even when they were coming out of my mouth. But I meant them.”

“He was saving innocents and serving truth. And in the final judgement, what is more important? The burdens we bear -- or the way we bear them?”

“And is that why we do what we do? For public approval, for fame? Do we help people because they will be appropriately grateful--or merely because they need help?”

“He said he hoped a lot of us would have careers in science,' she said. She didn't see anything funny in that. She was remembering a lesson that had impressed her. She was repeating it, gropingly, dutifully. 'He said, the trouble with the world was...''The trouble with the world was,' she continued hesitatingly, 'that people were still superstitious instead of scientific. He said if everybody would study science more, there wouldn't be all the trouble there was.''He said science was going to discover the basic secret of life some day,' the bartender put in. He scratched his head and frowned. 'Didn't I read in the paper the other day where they'd finally found out what it was?''I missed that,' I murmured. ' I saw that, said Sandra. "About two days ago.''That's right,' said the bartender.'What is the secret of life?' I asked.'I forget,' said Sandra.'Protein,' the bartender declared. 'They found out something about protein.''Yeah,' said Sandra, 'that's it.”

“The most heartbreakingly beautiful girl I ever hope to see”