At least until there are new lakes in the clouds that open upon living cities as yet unknown, and perhaps forever, that is a question which you must answer within your own heart.

The shelf was filled with books that were hard to read, that could devastate and remake one's soul, and that, when they were finished, had a kick like a mule.

There is justice in the world, Peter Lake, but it cannot be had without mystery.

Quite possibly there's nothing as fine as a big freight train starting across country in early summer, Hardesty thought. That's when you learn that the tragedy of plants is that they have roots.

their powerlessness, innocence, and imagination fused to enable them to turn time inside out, travel on the wind, and enter the souls of animals.

Justice came from a fight amid complexities, and required all the virtues in the world merely to be perceived.

The beauty of truth is that it need not be proclaimed or believed. It skips from soul to soul, changing form each time it touches, but it is what it is, I have seen it, and someday you will, too.

Small scenes can be so beautiful that they change a man forever.

Physical features count little unless they are illumined from within.

For the first time in his life, he felt exactly what he was, and he was not impressed.

She felt as if she knew the stars, and had been among them, or would be.

It is preposterous to suppose that the people of one generation can lay down the best and only rules of government for all who are to come after them, and under unforeseen contingencies.

While knowledge is powerful it should be approached with the utmost respect and caution.

She’d gotten through the entire evening without killing anyone. Lieutenant Eve Dallas, cop to the bone, figured the restraint showed enormous strength of character.

Especially in the world of comedy, it feels like you have to be proactive, in terms of pitching and trying to sell and being a part of the creation of the stuff that you do.

All language is a popularity contest.

It is not always from valor or from chastity that men are brave, and women chaste.

If a piece requires some specific inflection, I'll record it. I take a lot of notes, and later categorize them, combining them alongside existing ideas, and eventually put a piece together.

Whenever the government says, 'It's time to move on,' that means there's something they don't want you to know about.

I'd be the best mum ever. I would. I've got great training from my mum.

Beautiful words are ugly motives best friends.