The questions are diamonds you hold in the light. Study a lifetime and you see different colors from the same jewel. The same questions, asked again, bring you just the answers you need just the minute you need them. – Richard Bach, Running From Safety

These words dropped into my childish mind as if you should accidentally drop a ring into a deep well. I did not think of them much at the time, but there came a day in my life when the ring was fished up out of the well, good as new. – Harriet Beecher Stowe, Old Town Folks, 1869

The emerald condenses the green of the meadows and certain aspects of the ocean. – Charles Blanc, Art in Ornament and Dress, 1875, translated from French

The ruby encloses the brilliant red of the clouds of evening… – Charles Blanc, Art in Ornament and Dress, 1875, translated from French