A man, to be greatly good, must imagine intensely and comprehensively; he must put himself in the place of another and of many others; the pains and pleasures of his species must become his own.

Until we know what motivates the hearts and minds of men we can understand nothing outside ourselves, nor will we ever reach fulfillment as that greatest miracle of all, the human being.

We like to read others but we do not like to be read.

It is easier to know (and understand) men in general than one man in particular.

To sense when a teenager needs understanding and when misunderstanding is a difficult and delicate task. The sad truth is that no matter how wise we are, we cannot be right for any length of time in our teenagers' eyes.

God grant me to contend with those that understand me.

In the novel we can know people perfectly, and, apart from the general pleasure of reading, we can find here a compensation for their dimness in life.

In daily life we never understand each other, neither complete clairvoyance nor complete confessional exists.

All persons are puzzles until at last we find in some word or act the key to the man, to the woman; straightway all their past words and actions lie in light before us.

Grieve not that men do not know you; grieve that you do not know men.

Insight-the titillating knack for hurting!

If you do not understand a man you cannot crush him. And if you do understand him, very probably you will not.

To understand is to forgive, even oneself.

It takes longer for man to find out man than any other creature that is made.

One learns peoples through the heart, not the eyes or the intellect.

Many men honestly do not know what women want, and women honestly do not know why men find what they want so hard to comprehend and deliver.

The best that can be said for anybody is probably that you misunderstood him favorably.

It is profound philosophy to sound the depths of feeling and distinguish traits of character. Men must be studied as deeply as books.

Each of us really understands in others only those feelings he is capable of producing himself.

Herein lies the tragedy of the age: not that men are poor,-all men know something of poverty; not that men are wicked,-who is good? not that men are ignorant,-what is truth? Nay, but that men know so little of men.