“Be fond of the man who jests at his scars, if you like; but never believe he is being on the level with you.”

“No one can say 'He jests at scars who never felt a wound' for I have never for one moment been in a state of mind to which even the imagination of serious pain was less than intolerable. If any man is safe from the danger of under-estimating this adversary, I am that man.”

“After all, man may be fond not only ofwell-being. Perhaps he is just as fond of suffering? Perhaps suffering is just as much in his interest as well-being?”

“Ask a kid who's struggling in math if he likes being in a mixed-level class, and he'll tell you he feels like a moron. Ask the math genius if he likes being in a mixed-level class, and he'll tell you he's sick of doing all the work during group projects. Sometimes, it's better to sort like with like.”

“You will notice already that Mr. Baggins was not quite so prosy as he liked to believe, also that he was very fond of flowers.”

“Stepan Arkadyevitch, who liked a joke, was fond of puzzling a plain man by saying that if he prided himself on his origin, he ought not to stop at Rurik and disown the first founder of his family-- the monkey.”