the position of women, that sad and well-nigh universal blot on civilizations, was never far from her mind.

It is a common delusion that you make things better by talking about them.

Life, for all its agonies...is exciting and beautiful, amusing and artful and endearing...and whatever is to come after it -- we shall not have this life again.

So they left the subject and played croquet, which is a very good game for people who are annoyed with one another, giving many opportunities for venting rancor.

At the worst, a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived.

Once you get to know your neighbors, you are no longer free, you are all tangled up, you have to stop and speak when you are out and you never feel safe when you are in.

The great and recurrent question about Abroad is, is it worth the trouble of getting there?

Human passions against eternal laws -- that is the everlasting conflict.

To lunch with the important ... that should be the daily goal of those for whom life is not a playground but a ladder.

The impulse to ask questions is among the more primitive human lusts.

As to the family, I have never understood how that fits in with the other ideals -- or, indeed, why it should be an ideal at all.

As the saying goes, "Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them." Why would I want to keep my limitations?

Chaos is the penance for leisure.

America remained a land of promise for lovers of freedom. Even Byron, at a moment when he was disgusted with Napoleon for not committing suicide, wrote an eloquent stanza in praise of Washington.

There has never been any 30-hour week for men who had anything to do.

Pure truth cannot be assimilated by the crowd; it must be communicated by contagion.

Society can only be happy and free in proportion as it is virtuous.

The people do not mind fornication but they loathe adultery.

Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time? One answer is that life is supposed to be difficult! It’s what enables us to grow. Remember, earth is not heaven!

I do not care about titles, I am glad I have one now because nobody wanted to fight me, now they will.