“I guess one of the great agonies of life is that we are constantly trying to finish that which is unfinishable”

“I guess that’s the beauty of books. When they finish they don’t really finish.”

“We are all at one stage or another of being unfinished. We can be born with deficiencies, or incur disabilities, some of which last through life. In fact, we are never finished while death is still in front of us. When there is something that cannot be resolved or fulfilled within our present span of life, it helps to remember that our life was not something we had a right to in the first place; it is simply gift. And our present life is not the whole of it.”

“I believe in the supreme excellence of righteousness; I believe that the law of righteousness will triumph in the universe over all evil; I believe that in the attempt to fulfil the law of righteousness, however imperfect it must remain, are to be found the inspiration, the consolation, and the sanctification of human existence.
We live in order to finish an, as yet, unfinished universe, unfinished so far as the human, that is, the highest part of it, is concerned. We live in order to develop the superior qualities of man which are, as yet, for the most part latent.”

“Come on,” I said. “We have to try. The effort is utterly pointless, but inaction seems an even greater agony.”

“I'm trying to feel more well adjusted than I really am, which is, I guess, the human condition.”

“I wish people who sell things would stop trying to guess how many of something we want to buy. I want to buy things one at a time.”

“What happens when we get back?
I don't know. I guess we try and forget.
I don't want to forget.”

“I guess what it means is this: to be human is to be fragile. We are easily hurt, and not just physically. We are easily hurt emotionally, too. So, as you move through life, my son, try not to hurt others.”

“We wish a great Poland, great with its achievements, culture, forms of social life, its position in Europe. The only way to gain this is by socialism accepted by society, constantly enriched by the everyday life experience.”