[T]he hours are even now never so full of gain as when I give them to the sky, the sea, the open wold. Why should we grudge Nature our heart? We might as well grudge it to the God who made the world. – Adeline Sergeant, The Story of a Penitent Soul: Being the Private Papers of Mr.

Almost always it is the fear of being ourselves that brings us to the mirror. – Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin

Tell me what you feel in your room when the full moon is shining in upon you and your lamp is dying out, and I will tell you how old you are, and I shall know if you are happy. – Henri Frederic Amiel