“Never an illness, nor the absenceof grandeur, no,nothing is able to kill the best in us,that kindness, dear sir, we are afflicted with:beautiful is the flower of man, his conduct,and every door opens on the beautiful truthand never hides treacherous whispers.I always gained something from making myself better,better than I am, better than I was,that most subtle citation:to recover some lost petalof the sadness I inherited:to search once more for the light that singsinside of me, the unwavering light.”

“please don't cook me, kind sirs! I am a good cook myself, and cook better than I cook, if you see what I mean.”

“I am better off doing as abnegation taught me: turning away from myself, projecting always outward, and hoping that in whatever is next, I will be better than I am now.”

“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.”

“A friend is more to be longed for than the light; I speak of a genuine one. And wonder not: for it were better for us that the sun should be extinguished, than that we should be deprived of friends; better to live in darkness, than to be without friends”

“See you and me have a better time than most can dream of, better than the best, so we can pull on through, whatever tears at us, whatever holds us down, and if nothing can be done, we'll make the best of what's around.”