From My Commonplace Book

"Men despise religion.  They hate it and are afraid it may be true.  The cure for this is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect.  Next make it attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is."~ Blaise Pascal

"True education is a kind of neverending story~ a matter of continual beginnings, of habitual fresh starts, of persistent newness."~ J.R.R. Tolkien

"The smell of the food had been exciting from the beginning.  It was rich and good and full of promise.  It made hunger merry.  It made craving a joy.  The rare memory of it would come into lean weeks for long after."~ Neil Gunn, Morning Tide

"I am always hopeful that the pendulum will swing back and that women will see again not only the necessity of a mother's being at home, but also the infinite and rich choice in that occupation for women of all ages.  Some will complain of monotony, but how few going out to a paid job have the opportunity to make their own schedules, to choose the routine of their week's labor, to follow up creative interests that women have within the home.  Our ever-present disciplines, the pattern of creaturely necessities~ cooking, laundry, decently clean houses~ are a blessing.  Beyond the physical care of the family, for better or worse we are shaping souls and characters.  Women learn slowly the magnitude of their influence.  Perhaps we would be more contented if we could realize that one of the few remaining free professions is that of a housewife.  If a woman resents being just a housewife, let her be called an artist." Josephine Moffett Benton, At the Pace of a Hen.