An author who sets about to depict events of the past that have run their course is suspected of wishing to avoid the problems of the present day, of being, in other words, a reactionary.

After closely examining my conscience, I venture to state that in my historical novels I intended the content to be just as modern and up-to-date as in the contemporary ones.

Asking the author of historical novels to teach you about history is like expecting the composer of a melody to provide answers about radio transmission.

I should add that it is open to debate whether what we call the writing of history these days is truly scientific.

Ever since my youth it has disturbed me that of the literary works that survived their own epoch, so many dealt with historical rather than contemporary subjects.

There's only a step from the sublime to the ridiculous, but there's no road leading from the ridiculous to the sublime.

An action doesn't have to be wrong just because it is not logical. It doesn't have to be right just because it has its logic.

Like the philosopher, the author views his task as one of establishing a clear connection between life and history, and of making the past bear fruit for the present and future.

What is a historian, anyway? It is someone who uses facts to record the development of humanity.

I have always made an effort to render every detail of my reality with the greatest accuracy; but I have never paid attention to whether my presentation of historical facts was an exact one.

From depicting the past, so goes the suspicion, it is a short step to glorifying the past.

Judging is the cause that creates the effect of choosing.

She who dies with the most toys is, nonetheless, still dead.

When you are in the presence of someone whose seed is in you, you’ve to cultivate that seed and make sure that seed depict you.

Vice incapacitates a man from all public duty; it withers the powers of his under- standing, and makes his mind paralytic.

I don't see the direct correlation between my personal life and the novel I'm writing until I'm at the end of the novel or very close to it.

There is no formula to relationships.

Since the civil war in Laos was resumed in earnest in 1963, American participation has been veiled in secrecy.

Michael's the ultimate entertainer. After Michael Jackson, it's Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Bruce Lee.

As a painter, taking photos is a form of shorthand - note-taking.