“It would kill the past, and when that was dead, he would be free.”

“He would never again tempt innocence. He would be good.”

“some kill their love when they are young,and some when they are old;some strangle with the hands of lust,some with the hands of gold:THE KINDEST USE A KNIFE, becauseTHE DEAD SO SOON GROW COLD.”

“He wanted to be where no one would know who he was. He wanted to escape from himself.”

“No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.”

“The one charm about the past is that it is the past. But women never know when the curtain has fallen. ”

“The things people say of a man do not alter a man. He is what he is. Public opinion is of no value whatsoever. Even if people employ actual violence, they are not to be violent in turn. That would be to fall to the same low level. After all, even in prison, a man can be quite free. His soul can be free. His personality can be untroubled. He can be at peace. And, above all things, they are not to interfere with other people or judge them in any way. Personality is a very mysterious thing. A man cannot always be estimated by what he does. He may keep the law, and yet be worthless. He may break the law, and yet be fine. He may be bad, without ever doing anything bad. He may commit a sin against society, and yet realize through that sin his true perfection.”