Swimmer By John Cheever Quotes & Sayings

Youth is too tumultuous for felicity; old age too insecure for happiness. The period most favorable to enjoyment, in a vigorous, fortunate, and generous life, is that between forty and sixty. — Christian Nestell Bovee

I am sometimes asked, "How do you know there won't be a war tomorrow (or a genocide, or an act of terrorism) that will refute your whole thesis?" The question misses the point of this book. The point is not that we have entered an Age of Aquarius in which every last earthling has been pacified forever. It is that substantial reductions in violence have taken place, and it is important to understand them. Declines in violence are caused by political, economic, and ideological conditions that take hold in particular cultures at particular times. If the conditions reverse, violence could go right back up. — Steven Pinker

But I know that any man whose very presence incites me to nearly throw away my reputation-or whatever shreds of it remain-is someone I must avoid at any cost. — Laurie Viera Rigler

Before believing, find the truth; before accepting, try to understand. — Debasish Mridha

If there was no Hollywood, no next movie, no deal at Warner Brothers, no place in Malibu or Venice, I would still be really happy. — Susan Downey