Close Enough

“You must have lost your senses!” cried the mother. “What has become of the goat?” “Oh — oh — oh! I was so unlucky. I sold it for a twisted bun!” The moment he uttered the words he realized what it was to sell the goat for a bun; he had not thought about it before. The mother said, — “What do you imagine the little goat thinks of you now, since you were willing to sell it for a twisted bun?” The boy reflected upon this himself, and felt perfectly sure that he never could know happiness more in this world — nor in heaven either, he thought, afterwards. He was so overwhelmed with sorrow that he promised himself that he would never do anything wrong again”
― Charles W. Eliot, Delphi Complete Harvard Classics and Shelf of Fiction

“How odd that is! We all profess to believe when we’re told that this world should be used merely as a preparation for the next; and yet there is something so cold and comfortless in the theory that we do not relish the prospect even for our children.”
― Anthony Trollope, Complete Works of Anthony Trollope

“WHY DO HUMAN BEINGS have cravings over and above their physical needs? It must be that God implanted these unnecessary cravings in us as a challenge. They give us an opportunity to exercise self-control, which is what enables us to rise to the highest spiritual levels. —RABBI ELIYAHU DESSLER (1892–1953)”
― Alan Morinis, Every Day, Holy Day: 365 Days of Teachings and Practices from the Jewish Tradition of Mussar

“Will this year, 1944, bring us victory? We don’t know yet. But where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again. We’ll need to be brave to endure the many fears and hardships and the suffering yet to come.”
― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl