Quotes from Judith Merkle Riley

Daughter, your presence is a stay and consolation to me. Begin again in the Tenth Book; tell me, how does Aristotle define true happiness?" "Father, he tells us that true happiness is found in contemplation, whereas the common idea of happiness as pleasant amusements is fostered by the courts of tyrants.

Give up opium before it kills you. Only coffee is brain food.

Why the Romans, Father?" I asked him one afternoon. "Because, my child, they teach us how to bear suffering in a world of injustice where all faith is dead," he answered.

Are you aware of the penalties reserved for freethinkers? I could send you to the block. Good.

Creativity is, after all, the greatest satisfaction of the human mind.

Susanna, what you need is a man to look after you -- a proper one, not a drunk or a philanderer -- or sure as fate, you'll not be safe on this earth." "Oh, nonsense, Nan. I had a man, and he didn't look after me at all, and now I'm just beginning to enjoy myself.

Poverty is the curse of ancient but numerous lineages.

It is impossible to deny a woman in a feeding mood. It is as if they look right through you, to that small, weak part that has been there since you were a baby and that doesn't know how to defy authority.

true happiness is found in contemplation, whereas the common idea of happiness as pleasant amusements is fostered by the courts of tyrants.

I mistrust mountebanks—especially of the female variety.