Family

Parentage is a very important profession; but no test of fitness for it is ever imposed in the interest of the children.

There is no magic on earth strong enough to wipe out the legacies of one’s parents.

as the silent voice of our parents from the country of the dead.

It’s frightening to think that you mark your children merely by being yourself.

Probably there is nothing in human nature more resonant with charges than the flow of energy between two biologically alike bodies, one of which has lain in amniotic bliss inside the other, one of which has labored to give birth to the other. The materials are here for the deepest mutuality and the most painful estrangement.

Compassion for our parents is the true sign of maturity.

A family library is a breeding-place for character.

Of all crimes that human creatures are capable of committing, the most horrid and unnatural is ingratitude, especially when it is committed against parents.

A SMALL COUNTRY TOWN IS NOT THE PLACE IN WHICH ONE WOULD CHOOSE TO QUARREL WITH A WIFE; EVERY HUMAN BEING IN SUCH PLACES IS A SPY.

It is a wise child that knows its own father, and an unusual one that unreservedly approves of him.

FAMILIES BREAK UP WHEN PEOPLE TAKE HINTS YOU DON’T INTEND AND MISS HINTS YOU DO INTEND.

This was the trouble with families. Like invidious doctors, they knew just where it hurt.

DON’T HOLD YOUR PARENTS UP TO CONTEMPT. AFTER ALL… IT IS JUST POSSIBLE THAT YOU MAY TAKE AFTER THEM.

IT IS A MELANCHOLY TRUTH THAT EVEN GREAT MEN HAVE THEIR POOR RELATIONS.

The general was essentially a man of peace, except in his domestic life.

Probably the only project he ever gave up on was me. He tried to give me advice, but he

When Aunt is calling to Aunt like mastodons bellowing across primeval swamps.

It is no use telling me that there are bad aunts and good aunts. At the core, they are all alike. Sooner or later, out pops the cloven hoof.

Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his.

To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.

The land of my fathers. My fathers can have it.

I am naturally very sorry to see you go, but understand … your wish to be able to spend more time with your family.

There is no such thing as Society. There are individual men and women, and there are families.