“The first half of life consists of the capacity to enjoy without the chance; the last half consists of the chance without the capacity.”

“The task is to learn how to enjoy everyday life without diminishing other people's chances to enjoy theirs.”

“My capacity for happiness," he added, "you could fit into a matchbox without taking out the matches first”

“To flatter and follow others, without being flattered and followed in turn, is but a state of half enjoyment”

“A simpler form of the same objection consists in saying that death ought not to be final, that there ought to be a second chance. I believe that if a million chances were likely to do good, they would be given.”

“All that can be done is for each of us to invent our own ideal library of our classics; and I would say that one half of it would consist of books we have read and that have meant something for us and the other half of books which we intend to read and which we suppose might mean something to us. We should also leave a section of empty spaces for surprises and chance discoveries.”