And habits are hell's own substitute for good intentions. Habits are the ruin of ambition, of initiative , of imagination. They're the curse of marriage and the after-bane of death.

Man is a being of varied, manifold and inconstant nature. And woman, by God, is a match for him.

But I despised men who accepted their fate. I shaped mine twenty times and had it broken twenty times in my hands.

I would give you my soul in a blackberry pie; and a knife to cut it with.

After I convinced them that I was a harmless novelist, I actually got them to give me a tour of the harem - which is usually off limits for tourists.

Look up . . . and see them. The teaching stars, beyond worship and commonplace tongues.

So she was on her own, Kate thought, and instilled all the friendly helpfulness she could into her next question. “Excuse me, but are you the bad company young Mr. Scott has got into?

He regards boredom, I observe, as the One and Mighty Enemy of his soul. And will succeed in conquering it, I am sure—if he survives the experience.

Where are the links of the chain ... joining us to the past?

But it's also because of something personal. My mother and father met while playing chess, so I've always had a fondness for the game. If it weren't for chess, I might not be here.

Facts are the soil from which the story grows. Imagination is a last resort.

I was far too nervous to be concerned about contributing to the conversations.

Good things happen when you meet strangers.

If everyone isn't beautiful, then no one is.

The first concert I attended was an Elvis concert when I was eleven. Even at that age he made me realize the tremendous effect a performer could have on an audience.

We may divide characters into flat and round.

I love reform better than its modes.

Love sees all; hate is blind.

Sometimes your worst hits in life wind up being your best advantage. If only you could believe that when you're getting hit.

There's a million white people better qualified than a black man to be president of America.

For as saith a proverb notable, Each thing seeketh his semblable.