Wit & Wisdom

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”

Thornton Wilder, quoted in the Monterey County, Calif., Herald

“The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it.”

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Football coach Lou Holtz, quoted in The Wall Street Journal

“Take care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get.”

George Bernard Shaw, quoted in The Boston Globe

“Power doesn’t always corrupt. Power can cleanse. What I believe is always true about power is that power always reveals.”

Robert Caro, quoted in CNN.com

“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.”

Michael Crichton, quoted in the Queens, N.Y., Gazette

“There’s only one thing we can be sure of, and that is the love that we have for our children, for our families, for each other. The warmth of a small child’s embrace, that is true.”

President Obama, speaking in Newtown, Conn.