Self-destruction is the effect of cowardice in the highest extreme. – Daniel Defoe
I have often thought of it as one of the most barbarous customs in the world, considering us as a civilized and a Christian country, that we deny the advantages of learning to women. – Daniel Defoe
Middle age is youth without its levity, and age without decay. – Daniel Defoe
In the traditional urban novel, there is only survival or not. The suburban idea, the conformist idea, that agony can be seen to and cured by doctors or psychoanalysis or self-knowledge is nowhere to be found in the city. Talking is a way of life, but it is not a cure. Same with religion. – Jane Smiley