Louisa May Alcott, Jo's Boys

"…what splendid dreams young people build upon a word, and how bitter is the pain when the bright bubbles burst."

"…having learned that people cannot be moulded like clay…"

"…books are always good company if you have the right sort. Let me pick out some for you.' And Mrs. Jo made a bee-line to the well-laden shelves, which were the joy of her heart and the comfort of her life."

"Education is not confined to books, and the finest characters often graduate from no college, but make experience their master, and life their book. [Some care] only for the mental culture, and [are] in danger of over-studying, under the delusion . . . that learning must be had at all costs, forgetting that health and real wisdom are better."

"It's lovely to see people so happy."