“Remembrance of the past kills all present energy and deadens all hope for the future”

“This fear is what is the ruin of us all. And some dominate us; they take advantage of our fear and frighten us still more. Mark this: as long as people are afraid, they will rot like the birches in the marsh. We must grow bold; it is time!”

“You must write for children the same way you write for adults, only better.”

“I do not care to see men better off – but better!”

“Lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the god of the free man.”

“When the life is monotonous , even grief is a welcome event...”

“The poor are always rich in children, and in the dirt and ditches of this street there are groups of them from morning to night, hungry, naked and dirty. Children are the living flowers of the earth, but these had the appearance of flowers that have faded prematurely, because they grew in ground where there was no healthy nourishment.”