“The tragedy of contemporary philosophy is that it has been castrated.”

“The question "Who am I?" really asks, "Where do I belong or fit?" We get the sense of that "direction" -- the sense of moving toward the place where we fit, or of shaping the place toward which we are moving so that it will fit us -- from hearing how others have handled or are attempting to handle similar (but never exactly the same) situations. We learn by listening to their stories, by hearing how they came (or failed) to belong or fit.”

“If only there were a river of courage, - Rahel whispered. I would bend down, cup the water in my hand and drink.”

“I will not let you die for a king you hate while fighting for a reason you do not support. I've already lost two men I loved. Don' make me lose another.”

“Keep track of your soul, Madison. Never compromise. Or you'll live the rest of your life regretting it--until it consumes you.”

“One of the disconcerting and delightful teaching of the master was: "God is closer to sinners than to saints."This is how he explained it: " God in heaven holds each person by a string. When you sin you cut the string. then God ties it up again, making a knot-and therby bringing you a little closer to him. Again and again your sins cut the string-and with each further knot God keeps drawing you closer and closer.”

“Contemporary poets got so obscure that poetry kind of fell out of favor,”