Wherever he was—on the porch, at the kitchen table, in the garden, in the living room reading—that's where the power and deference were. He didn't exert power; he assumed it. And it was in part from knowing him that I felt I could understand and create the men in Ruby—their easy assumption of uncontested authority.

Take heed lest passion sway thy judgment to do aught, which else free will would not admit.

When you have got an elephant by the hind leg, and he is trying to run away, it is best to let him run.

Few men of action have been able to make a graceful exit at the appropriate time.

It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence.

Violence is essentially wordless, and it can begin only where thought and rational communication have broken down.

A leader is a person who has learned to obey a discipline imposed from without, and has then taken on a more rigorous discipline from within. Those who rebel against authority and scorn self-discipline -- who shirk the rigors and turn from the sacrifices -- do not qualify to lead.

I think the way we react to things is a big indicator of our character and what type of person we are.

When men reject reason, they have no means left for dealing with one another — except brute, physical force.

It is only our bad temper that we put down to being tired or worried or hungry; we put our good temper down to ourselves.

Emotions were like wild horses and it required wisdom to be able to control them

God grant me the serenity to accept that people are ignorant, the courage to uphold the law when I'm hostile, & the wisdom to realize that murder is illegal.