Firmness of purpose is one of the most necessary sinews of character and one of the best instruments of success. Without it genius wastes its efforts in a maze of inconsistencies.

As fathers commonly go, it is seldom a misfortune to be fatherless; and considering the general run of sons, as seldom a misfortune to be childless.

The mere brute pleasure of reading - the sort of pleasure a cow must have in grazing.

If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old.

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

Being pretty on the inside means you don't hit your brother and you eat all your peas - that's what my grandma taught me.

Modesty is the only sure bait when you angle for praise.

Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.

You must look into people, as well as at them.

A man's own good breeding is the best security against other people's ill manners.

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

Every artist needs canvass, mine just happens to be Microsoft Word and a Thesaurus.

People's envy shows how unhappy they feel

Led Zeppelin, you can't find a better band to pay homage to.

Infidelity is seated in the heart; its origin is not in the head. It is the wish that Christianity might not be true, that leads to an argument to prove it.

If you give me the ball, you'll never see it again. Because I'll knock it out of the f*****g park.

I really enjoy a variety of different work, and what I've just done may sometimes determine what I choose to do next.

The United States did not sign Kyoto, yet its emissions are not that different from the countries that did sign it.

I think that the people who are the loudest about wanting to change you are the people with the least amount of vision and creativity.

By the way, I got a Grammy, which was a big thrill.

Cocktail parties ... are usually not parties at all but mass ceremonials designed to clear up at one great stroke a wealth of obligations.