“To understand what happens now one must find the cause, which may be very long ago in its beginning, but is surely there, and therefore a knowledge of history as detailed as possible is essential if we are to comprehend the present and be prepared for the future.”

“All things are possible until they are proved impossible and even the impossible may only be so, as of now.”

“You are right,” he had said. “Love is not the word. No one can love his neighbor. Say, rather, ‘Know thy neighbor as thyself.” That is, comprehend his hardships and understand his position, deal with his faults as gently as with your own. Do not judge him where you do not judge yourself. Madame, this is the meaning of the word love.”

“One faces the future with one's past.”

“Now, five years is nothing in a man's life except when he is very young and very old...- Wang Lung”

“Self-expression must pass into communication for its fulfillment.”

“Perhaps one has to be very old before one learns to be amused rather than shocked.”