It's easier to go down a hill than up it but the view is much better at the top.

It's easier to go down a hill than up it but the view is much better at the top.

Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold read more

Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

Without duty, life is soft and boneless; it cannot hold itself together.

Without duty, life is soft and boneless; it cannot hold itself together.

It has to be displayed, this face, on a more or less horizontal plane. Imagine a man wearing a mask, read more

It has to be displayed, this face, on a more or less horizontal plane. Imagine a man wearing a mask, and imagine that the elastic which holds the mask on has just broken, so that the man (rather than let the mask slip off) has to tilt his head back and balance the mask on his real face. This is the kind of tyranny which Lawson's face exerts over the rest of his body as he cruises along the corridors. He doesn't look down his nose at you, he looks along his nose.

Life is like a cash register, in that every account, every thought, every deed, like every sale, is registered and read more

Life is like a cash register, in that every account, every thought, every deed, like every sale, is registered and recorded.

Men on their side must force themselves for a while to lay their notions by and begin to familiarize themselves read more

Men on their side must force themselves for a while to lay their notions by and begin to familiarize themselves with facts.

We can spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or insane. Saints or sex addicts. read more

We can spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or insane. Saints or sex addicts. Heroes or victims. Letting history tell us how good or bad we are. Letting our past decide our future. Or we can decide for ourselves. And maybe it's our job to invent something better.

Euphemisms are not, as many young people think, useless verbiage for that which can and should be said bluntly; they read more

Euphemisms are not, as many young people think, useless verbiage for that which can and should be said bluntly; they are like secret agents on a delicate mission, they must airily pass by a stinking mess with barely so much as a nod of the head, make their point of constructive criticism and continue on in calm forbearance. Euphemisms are unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic cologne.

Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.

Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.