“The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”

“The only way to win against evil is not to play the game.”

“Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused,'" Gabriel quoted. "One of the unrecorded Beatitudes.”

“Are we talking hell hounds and flames here?" Des asked, pacing at the end of our beds.I repeated the question and gave a heaving sigh of relief when Jameson said I had the wrong idea."He's going to 'lead us into temptation.'""That doesn't sound so bad," Des said with a cheeky grin.”

“Some years ago, I read an article about two people in the arts (alas, I can’t remember who they were) who’d been married for many, many years. Asked for the secret of their long partnership, they said: “We fell straight into conversation when we met, and we haven’t come to the end of that conversation yet.”I can’t think of a better model for marriage than that. Or of a narrative more romantic . . . .”

“A soul that is transformed by principles exudes holiness and a sense of pureness that is beyond our imagination.”

“I do not believe in God. Instead I believe in the power of Family. And occasionally, when I'm feeling optimistic, in free will. But blood is a force to be reckoned with. God for example, can't give you an excellent head of hair. Your family can. They can also give you cancer. And heart disease. Nothing kills like Family.”