“I am not a ‘wise man,’ nor . . . shall I ever be. And so require not from me that I should be equal to the best, but that I should be better than the wicked. It is enough for me if every day I reduce the number of my vices, and blame my mistakes.”

“For the future, I shall rely only upon those elements of my character which I have tested. Who would ever have said that I should find pleasure in shedding tears? That I should love the man who proves to me that I am nothing more than a fool?”

“I would rather be ashes than dust!I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.The function of man is to live, not to exist.I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.I shall use my time.”

“I hear my father; I need never fear.I hear my mother; I shall never be lonely, or want for love.When I am hungry it is they who provide for me; when I am in dismay, it is they who fill me with comfort.When I am astonished or bewildered, it is they who make the weak ground firm beneath my soul: it is in them that I put my trust.When I am sick it is they who send for the doctor; when I am well and happy, it is in their eyes that I know best that I am loved; and it is towards the shining of their smiles that I lift up my heart and in their laughter that I know my best delight.I hear my father and my mother and they are my giants, my king and my queen, beside whom there are not others so wise or worthy or honorable or brave or beautiful in this world. I need never fear: nor ever shall I lack for loving-kindness.”

“Everything was as it always should have been. I was in the arms of my best friend, the man I loved and the man I would spend the rest of my life with. It just didn’t get any better than that.”

“OUR TWO SOULS THEREFOREAll that was ablaze in the Field of Flowers! Pluck forth a bloom, and think on what has been; on centuries of betrayal, and pain, and misunderstanding...I am what I am, and what I am is what I am. I have a will to be what I am, and what I will be is only what I am. If I have a will to be, I will to be no more than what I was. If I was I am willed to be, yet they ever will be wondering what I am or what I ever was. I want to change the Wall, and make my Will.That I am that same wall, the truth is so.And this the cranny is, right and sinister,Through which the fearful lovers are to whisper.Each pair adds up to every jointed piece; the bottom left is a square; bottom right is a square; top left is a square; top right is a square. The heart is a square too.WHICH ARE ONEAnd I am halfway through the orbit. And if you take half of the whole and make up pairs to equal me, you will soon use up all of the pairs.Now, look no further than the day. My alpha and my omega. Make of these two halves a whole. Take the song of equal number in the old king's book. Equal number of paces forward from the start. Equal number of paces backwards from the end - omitting only the single exit word. Amen to that.I am what I am, and what I am is what you will see.Count on me very carefully.ENDURE NOT YET A BREACH, BUT AN EXPANSION”