"God is no white knight who charges into the world to pluck us like distressed damsels from the jaws of dragons, or disease. God chooses to become present to and through us. It is up to us to rescue one another." — Nancy Mairs, American author, born 1943
"To look back all the time is boring. Excitement lies in tomorrow." — Natalia Makarova, Russian ballerina, born 1940
"We poets have no need for drugs to attain the borderline between life and death." — Louis Malle, French-American director, born 1932
"It is only when memory is filtered through imagination that the films we make will have real depth." — Louis Malle, French-American director, born 1932
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." — Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, born 1918
"I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying." — Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid politician, born 1918
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." — Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid politician, born 1918
"The oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness... The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robed of their humanity." — Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, born 1918
"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars." — Og Mandino, American author, born 1923
"Every new painting is like throwing myself into the water without knowing how to swim." — Edouard Manet, French painter, born 1832
"You would hardly believe how difficult it is to place a figure alone on a canvas, and to concentrate all the interest on this single and universal figure and still keep it living and real." — Edouard Manet, French painter, born 1832
"In a face, look for the main light and the main shadow; the rest will come naturally — it's often not important. And then you must cultivate your memory, because Nature will only provide you with references. Nature is like a warden in a lunatic asylum. It stops you from becoming banal." — Edouard Manet, French painter, born 1832