To me, art is not a solitary delight. It is a means of stirring the greatest number of men by providing them with a privileged image of our common joys and woes.

Every man rejoices twice when he has a partner in his joy. He who shares tears with us wipes them away. He divides them in two, and he who laughs with us makes the joy double.

There are some men formed with feelings so blunt that they can hardly be said to be awake during the whole course of their lives.

A man deep-wounded may feel too much pain To feel much anger.

Is quick relief worth it? No, it isn't. I'd rather take the pain myself so they won't have to.

We live in the world with you. We do not forsake forum or bath or workshop, or inn, or market, or any other place of commerce. We sail with you, fight with you, farm with you.

I said before, that I have learnt much by guiding others. In the first place I see that all souls have more or less the same battles to fight, and on the other hand, that one soul differs widely from another, so each must be dealt with differently.

If we allow ourselves even for a moment to contemplate the vast weight of suffering in the world, we will easily be overwhelmed with grief. This is why we develop the habit and self-protective instinct of overlooking the suffering around us.

There is quite enough sorrow and shame and suffering and baseness in real life, and there is no need for meeting it unnecessarily in fiction.

With the tears a Land hath shed Their graves should ever be green.

If for no other reason, God sometimes allows us to suffer pain so that we can comfort others suffering in a like situation.

In tragedy anything comic is a blemish and in comedy anything tragic is ugly