He had always thought of himself as a successful man, although nothing he had ever done had turned out successfully. - Sherwood Anderson

To be civilized, really, is to be aware of the others, their hopes, their gladnesses, their illusions about life.

Little pyramids of truth he erected and after erecting knocked them down again that he might have the truths to erect other pyramids.

But these notes make no pretense of being a record of fact. That isn't their object. They are merely notes of impressions, a record of vagrant thoughts, hopes, ideas that have floated through the mind of one present-day American. It is likely that I have not, and will not, put into them one truth, measuring by the ordinary standards of truth. It is my aim to be true to the essence of things. That's what I'm after.