The doctors tell us of a physical disease called fatty degeneration of the heart… there is a moral malady—fatty degeneration of the soul; sooner or later it attacks every man, however noble his career, who puts self forward in his aims; who values fame because a personal possession. – Frank Lee Benedict, The Price She Paid, 1882

It is the fancy of every mortal that being cradled in the arms of mortality is a safe place for the time being. – Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

Be a good animal, true to your animal instincts. – David Herbert Lawrence, White Peacock, 1911

I do not value any view of the universe into which man and the institutions of man enter very largely and absorb much of the attention. Man is but the place where I stand, and the prospect hence is infinite. – Henry David Thoreau, journal, 1852 April 2nd