Speaking on behalf of me and the missus, I want to thank you all for this demonstration of affection. I'm grateful first to Bill and Wendy for conceiving this beautiful dinner—it was their generous idea—but also to every one of the rest of you, whom Rose and I know and love. Forty years ago on this date, in Rome, I somehow knew that Rose and I would be celebrating, in 1993, the fruits of our model marriage. I know that while in other marriages the partners would, inevitably, be at each other's throats, Rose and I would be throughout the years steadfastly at each other's sides, a constant reproach to those less patient, tolerant, and faithful.
Philoprogenitive, and sharing a passion for books and pets, we have spent scarcely a night apart, and I hope our example of an almost insanely obsessive monogamy will prove to be an example to the rising generation for whom words like devotion and caring are but cheap coinage. Rose has endured much at the hands of her demanding husband, and for this I bless her. God bless all of you for having been so much a part of our interminable partnership experiences. God bless our noble marriage and, while we're at it, God bless America!
[Speech on the occasion of the Styrons’ fortieth wedding anniversary—at a dinner hosted by their friends William and Wendy Luers, May 4, 1993. Previously unpublished.]