“This world,” she said, “it’s fulla stuff that people think you ain’t supposed to do, but which is actually okay. It’s also full of stuff you really, really shouldn’t do. Nobody tells you which is which, so you gotta find the difference.”

“A virtue is something that is valuable even if it gives you nothing. A virtue persists without payment or compensation. Positive thinking is great. Vital. Useful. But it has to remain so even if it gets you nothing. Belief, truth, honor … if these exist only to get you something, you’ve missed the storming point.”

It was the eternal irony of the capable rhetorician: train to find holes in any philosophy, and that will inevitably extend to your own. An inquisitive mind did not stop asking questions just because it found answers.

if someone you deeply respected disagreed with you, perhaps it was worth reconsidering.