“We are living now. We shall not live long. No one should tell us we shall live again. This is our little while. This is our chance.”

“How I love - writing, acting, breathing the atmosphere- and one day I'll have it. If I cannot write, I shall die.”

“Manhattan was kaleidoscopic. Cubist. Just when she was feeling one way, the seasons changed, and so did she.”

“Florence has a passion for books. When she saw the one she was seeking, she would recognize it, as if the volume had belonged to her in a previous life.”

“Aspire to decency. Practice civility toward one another. Admire and emulate ethical behavior wherever you find it. Apply a rigid standard of morality to your lives; and if, periodically, you fail ­ as you surely will ­ adjust your lives, not the standards.”

“We deserve to reach for the stars, even if our bodies wish to keep us firmly planted on the ground.”

“We live by our labors from one harvest to the next, there is no certain telling whether we shall be able to feed ourselves and our children, and if bad times are prolonged we know we must see the weak surrender their lives and this fact, too, is within our experience. In our lives there is no margin for misfortune.”