In this month’s installment of our Inkandescent Quotes column, we bring you our favorite 10 quotes about what it means to be a father. Here’s to celebrating Dad: Sunday, June 21.

• “The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.” ― Writer Antoine François Prévost, in the novel “Manon Lescaut”

• “Real fatherhood means love and commitment and sacrifice and a willingness to share responsibility and not walking away from one’s children.” — William Bennett, writer and conservative talk show host

• “There’s so much negative imagery of black fatherhood. I’ve got tons of friends who are doing the right thing by their kids, and doing the right thing as a father — and how come that’s not as newsworthy?” — Will Smith, actor, producer, and rapper

• “Fatherhood is great because you can ruin someone from scratch.” — Jon Stewart, political satirist and host of “The Daily Show”

• “With marriage and fatherhood, I’ve finally found two fixed points in my life. They’ve taught me patience. They’ve also taught me that I don’t need to feel guilty about being happy. My emotional seasons are less extreme.” — Musician Pete Wentz

• “Anyone who tells you fatherhood is the greatest thing that can happen to you, they are understating it.” — Actor Mike Myers

• “Older fatherhood isn’t all bad: Testosterone rates drop about 1 percent per year as men age, making them less reactive and more patient, and a professionally established middle-aged man is likely to have more time and money to devote to his kids than a 20-something who’s just getting started.” — Writer Jeffrey Kluger

• “To be the father of growing daughters is to understand something of what Yeats evokes with his imperishable phrase ‘terrible beauty.’ Nothing can make one so happily exhilarated or so frightened: It’s a solid lesson in the limitations of self to realize that your heart is running around inside someone else’s body. It also makes me quite astonishingly calm at the thought of death: I know whom I would die to protect, and I also understand that nobody but a lugubrious serf can possibly wish for a father who never goes away.” ― Author and literary critic Christopher Hitchens, in “Hitch-22: A Memoir”

• “Before I got married I had six theories about raising children; now, I have six children and no theories.” ― John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

• “Saturday mornings, I’ve learned, are a great opportunity for kids to sneak into your bed, fall back asleep, and kick you in the face.” ― Dan Pearce, blogger on “Single Dad Laughing”