Few sons are equal to their fathers; most fall short, all too few surpass them. 

One race there is of men, one of gods, but from one mother we both draw our breath.

I cannot bear a parent’s tears.

The greatest thing in family life is to take a hint when a hint is intended—and not to take a hint when a hint isn’t intended.

Family! Thou art the home of all social evil, a charitable institution for comfortable women, an anchorage for house-fathers, and a hell for children.

There is not much less vexation in the government of a private family than in the managing of an entire state.

He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief.

By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacationless class.

Familiarity breeds contempt—and children.

Every man sees in his relatives, and especially in his cousins, a series of grotesque caricatures of himself.

My father! The sun is my father, and the earth is my mother, and on her bosom I will recline.