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The theologian Paul Hinlicky uses the term “patiency” to signal that human beings possess not just the ability to act—agency—but the ability to endure. A decent alternative term might be that old King James standby: “longsuffering.” To acknowledge our patiency is to recognize that we are not the protagonists of the drama of creation, but background actors, those required by role and circumstance to take what comes to us. Patiency is the quality modeled by the martyrs, or by Christ, who, though “oppressed and afflicted…did not open His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). If we would live a moral life, we must endure as surely as we must act. We need not like it; it is simply how things are.

— Leaves of Healing by Matt Miller (Page 21)

As a monk in disobedience to his superior, Nicetas left the monastery and closed himself in a cell. Because of his disobedience, God permitted great temptations to befall him. Once, when Nicetas was at prayer, the devil appeared to him under the guise of a radiant angel and said to him: "Do not pray anymore, but rather read books and I will pray for you!" Nicetas obeyed, ceased to pray, and began to read books. He only read the Old Testament. He was unable to open the New Testament, for the power of the devil prevented him from doing so. With the help of the devil, Nicetas prophesied—but only about crimes, thefts, arson, and other evil deeds which are known to the devil and in which he participates. Finally the holy fathers of the Caves [of Kiev] realized that Nicetas had fallen into demonic delusion, and they began to pray to God for him. Nicetas returned to the monastery, realized the state of ruin he was in, repented bitterly over his disobedience and pride, and directed himself on the right path. After prolonged repentance and many tears, God forgave him and bestowed upon him the gift of miracle-working. He reposed in the year 1108.

— The Prologue of Ohrid by St. Nikolai Velimirovic (Page 129 - 130)

In New York it becomes so easy to assume that the city's most alluring women have flown in from Paris or Milan. But they're just a minority. A much larger covey hails from the stalwart states that begin with the letter I—like Iowa and Indiana and Illinois. Bred with just the right amount of fresh air, roughhousing, and ignorance, these primitive blondes set out from the cornfields looking like starlight with limbs....

One of the great advantages that the midwestern girls had was that you couldn't tell them apart. You can always tell a rich New York girl from a poor one. After all, that's what accents and manners are there for. But to the native New Yorker, the midwestern girls all looked and sounded the same.... [T]o us they all looked like hayseeds: unblemished, wide-eyed, and God-fearing, if not exactly free of sin.

— Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (Page 14)

When right action is needed, a parable is a surer guide than a statute.

— On the Razor's Edge by Michael Flynn (Spiral Arm, #4) (Page 75)

[C]hildren introduce temptations as well as responsibilities into a household. One night while watching "Northern Exposure" after the children had gone to bed, Susan climbed on a chair and got the Halloween candy off the shelf.

"Don't you feel guilty," her husband asked, "eating their loot? After all, it was their holiday. They are the ones who walked up to the neighbors' doors with their little hands outstretched."

Susan unwrapped a Fun-Size Snickers. "They," she said, "would not be walking on this earth were it not for me. And they weigh one-fourth of what I weigh. They shouldn't have this candy. I'm just doing my job as a mother."

"Pass it over here," her husband said.

— Feast Here Awhile by Jo Brans (Page 184 - 185)

My young friend Sarah Ziegler, who has been a food professional for years, told me that caterers use the Silver Palate cookbooks a lot. Sarah is not easily impressed, with cooks or their guests. At a Washington party she catered, she teased one of the guests about his pants, "hysterical bell bottoms with ducks on them, what a bozo," only to discover within minutes that the bozo was Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense in the Bush administration. "I don't care," she said. "He was still a goofus."

— Feast Here Awhile by Jo Brans (Page 177)