Among many parallels which men of imagination have drawn between the natural and moral state of the world, it has been observed that happiness as well as virtue consists in mediocrity.

Cucumber should be well sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.

Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.

Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.

When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.

Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.

A man who uses a great many words to express his meaning is like a bad marksman who, instead of aiming a single stone at an object, takes up a handful and throws at it in hopes he may hit.

There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain.

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.

He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts.

Faith itself cannot accomplish anything, yet without faith, no one can fly.

For some, excavating the past isn’t an adventure, it’s more akin to tearing a Band-Aid off an open wound.

It’s not right that some people have so much and others have so little.

The idea of a journeyman actor, people sort of say negatively - "Someone who never made it for real" - [but] I think a journeyman actor is the complete goal.

For I have never wanted a lover, but I have always wanted to love, and to be loved.

You believe that you are your mind. This is the delusion.

Any man, however blase or depraved, finds his love kindled anew when he sees himself threatened by a rival.

With Germany herself falling, it is not strange that the nations leagued with her also went down to defeat.

For every man who lives without freedom, the rest of us must face the guilt.

Good painting is like good cooking; it can be tasted, but not explained.