How we cite our quotes: (Letter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
A little too much anger, too often or at the wrong time, can destroy more than you could ever imagine. (1.1.12)
Ames would know. He's seen what anger does—in fact, he's seen it sever the bonds of parents and children. That's serious business.
Quote #2
When the Lord says you must "become as one of these little ones," I take him to mean you must be stripped of all the accretions of smugness and pretense and triviality. (1.2.57)
Children just are who they are. They play without trying to hide their desires. In that way, you could say they're more authentic than adults.
Quote #3
I believe my father was trying to cover up for Cain, more or less. (1.7.24)
Cain is the first murderer in the Bible, and he's frequently used as a symbol for primeval murder or for the original murderous impulse. Even more than Adam and Eve, he's a symbol for the presence of sin in the world. Ames is saying that his father wanted to get rid of this sinful, murderous impulse—the kind of thing that leads people to go to war, for example.