“Do we respond only to people who seem to find us interesting?”

“Is that the basis of friendship? Is it as reactive as that? Do we respond only to people who seem to find us interesting?... Do we all buzz or ring or light up when people press our vanity buttons, and only then? Can I think of anyone in my whole life whom I have liked without his first showing signs of liking me?”

“As long as we think abstractly, as long as we find in patriotism and the exuberance of War our fulfillment, we will never understand those who do battle against us, or how we are perceived by them, or finally those who do battle for us and how we should respond to it all. We will never discover who we are. We will fail to confront the capacity we all have for violence.”

“Share your aspirations only with those who will support you, not those who will respond with doubt or lack of interest.”

“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”

“Jasper, who is six, is the only one of us who responds appropriately. He wails, inconsolable for an hour.”