How we cite our quotes: (Chapter. Paragraph)
Quote #10
People had been wicked or wrong in the matter, no one save himself had been trivial. (8.2)
The matter in question here is the fate of Lilia's baby. Philip realizes that out of everyone involved in the situation (Harriet who was "wicked" for kidnapping the child; Miss Abbott who was "wrong" for trying to separate the baby from his father), he is the only one who was "trivial," or inconsequential. Because Philip fails to act, his passivity means that he has no effect, good or bad, on the events happening in his own life.
Quote #11
"It happened because I was cowardly and idle." (8.13)
Philip finally admits that the events leading up to the baby's death happened at least in part because he was too cowardly to act. His inaction meant that Harriet had to take charge, leading to the kidnapping (and ultimately death) of the child. Sometimes failing to do anything is even worse than doing something wrong.
Quote #12
"You're without passion; you look on life as a spectacle; you don't enter it; you only find it funny or beautiful." (10.57)
Miss Abbott disapproves of Philip's detachment from life, his tendency to look at life as a "spectacle," something to be watched from a distance and not participated in with passion. Is Philip someone who is even capable of feeling real passion? Or is he too emotionally disconnected from people and reality to ever full take part in it?