The youth of an art is, like the youth of anything else, its most interesting period. When it has come to the knowledge of good and evil it is stronger, but we care less about it.

Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.

All philosophies, if you ride them home, are nonsense, but some are greater nonsense than others.

In old times people used to try and square the circle; now they try and devise schemes for satisfying the Irish nation.

Father asked us what was God's noblest work. Anna said men, but I said babies. Men are often bad, but babies never are.

All creatures are united to God alone in an immediate union. They depend essentially and directly upon Him. Being all alike equally impotent, they cannot be in reciprocal dependence upon one another.

You can't get around pain and opposition, but you can try to be joyful in the trial, and thank yourself for the trial, and thank God for the strength to get through it.

If you want to be a legend, God help you, it's so easy. You just do one thing. You can be the master of suspense, say. But if you want to be as invisible as is practical, then it's fun to do a lot of different things.