In all our lives, however, there are many days when we die a little, when we are wounded by loss or failure, or by fear, or by seeing the suffering of others for whom we are able to offer only pity, for whom we are powerless to offer aid, we are beyond mercy.

Sympathy is a nobler feeling than pity. But if sympathy is the principal reason that one person is drawn to another, there will always be an unbridgeable chasm between friendship and genuine love.

الألم نعمة، فالبشرية من دون ألم، لا تعرف الخوف أو الشفقة، فمن دون خوف، لا يمكن أن يكون هناك تواضع، ويصبح كل إنسان وحشا، فرؤية الألم عند الآخرين يولِّد فينا الشّفقة، وفي شفقنا تكمن إنسانيتنا، خلاصنا.

She says what holds their marriage together is that she feels too damn sorry for him to ask for a divorce.