“Oh come on, haven't you ever known you shouldn't do something,but you couldn't help yourself?" Nataly's voice turned smooth and lulling. She smiled catlike. "The temptaion , the lure of a few moments of ecstasy is just too much to resist, and give in, even though you know you shouldn?"Yes," Clarissa said, "I have those moments, They're called 'eating chocolate.”

“If you believe something will make the world better, then it's always worth a try, even if you fail.”

“Funny, that no matter where you are in the world, there's always someone eager to help you destroy yourself.”

“No, Michael, I do not trust you on a boat, I do not trust you on a goat. I do not trust you here. I do not trust you there. I do not trust you anywhere.”

“She took a sip of the coffee and then said, “Manna. Thank you, Sir.”“Now I really do know how to punish you.”She curled both hands around the mug. “You wouldn’t take away my coffee!”“Only if I feared for my life,” he said, carrying food to the table.”

“So then she had to take it, though still with her defeated protest. "It isn't so much your BEING 'right'--it's your horrible sharp eye for what makes you so."Oh but you're just as bad yourself. You can't resist me when I point that out."She sighed it at last all comically, all tragically, away. "I can't indeed resist you."Then there we are!" said Strether.”

“There are times when the world slips out of control. It's like an accident that is happening too quickly , and you can't stop it, you can't think about it, you have no choice but to lean back and watch as everything changes forever.”