“You were never poor as long as you had something to love.”

“Longing for something that you once had is a mistake because the pictures in your mind are never the same as whatever it is you are longing for.”

“Because by now Elinor had understood this, too: A longing for books was nothing compared with what you could feel for human beings. The books told you about that feeling. The books spoke of love, and it was wonderful to listen to them, but they were no substitute for love itself. They couldn't kiss her like Meggie, they couldn't hug her like Resa, they couldn't laugh like Mortimer. Poor books, poor Elinor.”

“I had cooperated. I could not have refused. I was smitten with her, half in love but also afraid, because in my life (and she seemed to know this) I had not loved anyone without having been wounded. Love was power and possession, love caused pain: you were never more exposed than when you were in love, never more wounded; possession was an enslavement, something stifling.”

“You just need a loving heart and inside your loving heart you are never poor.”

“If you truly love something, you should set it free, and if it doesn't come back then...they were never yours to start.”