Charm strikes the sight, but merit wins the soul.

The greatest magnifying glasses in the world are a man's own eyes when they look upon his own person.

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.

In faith and hope the world will disagree, but all mankind's concern is charity.

To err is human; to forgive, divine.

Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see, that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me.

The best way to prove the clearness of our mind, is by showing its faults; as when a stream discovers the dirt at the bottom, it convinces us of the transparency and purity of the water.

Chiefs who no more in bloody fights engage, But wise through time, and narrative with age, In summer-days like grasshoppers rejoice - A bloodless race, that send a feeble voice.

While pensive poets painful vigils keep, Sleepless themselves, to give their readers sleep.

See! From the brake the whirring pheasant springs, And mounts exulting on triumphant wings; Short is his joy! He feels the fiery wound, Flutters in blood, and panting beats the ground.

Is the writer cruel that makes his characters suffer only to bring them to triumph or tragedy in the end?

An imperfect creative expression is much more sensible and creative than a grammatically perfect expression without an iota of sense and value in it.

There are places we fear, places we dream, places whose exiles we became and never learned it until, sometimes, too late.

Yet, no matter how deeply I go down into myself, my God is dark, and like a webbing made of a hundred roots that drink in silence.

The fact that every part of this ship was built by the low bidder.

The vague torment of ... ambition.

One does well to put on gloves when reading the New Testament. The proximity of so much uncleanliness almost forces one to do this.

I've always thought of the western as American storytelling at its best.

When you forget yourself and your fear, when you get beyond self-consciousness because your mind is thinking about what you are trying to communicate, you become a better communicator

The Spanish PM rang me to say: 'I have the support of only 4 per cent of the people.' I said, 'Crikey, that's even less than think Elvis Presley is still alive.'