I consider a story merely as a frame on which to stretch my materials.

Great minds have purposes others have wishes.

Great minds have purposes; others have wishes.

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.

I've had it with you and your emotional constipation!

A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use.

Honest good humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting, and there is no jovial companionship equal to that where the jokes are rather small and laughter abundant.

Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.

There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations.

This was one of the casualties of war, that trust itself seemed to die a thousand deaths.

Even choosing the perfect dinner wine loses its earth-shattering importance if your guests happen to be cannibals, and you, the unsuspecting entree.

Don't let the muggles get you down.

I think the foundation of everything in my life is wonder.

I honestly and truly love and believe in what I'm making, and it's not a joke, whereas some people would take a singer-songwriter sitting behind an acoustic guitar as sincere.

If you hang with 9 broke people, you'll be the 10th.

Dress for yourself and the man you love (if there is one). Women dressing to impress other women--forget about that. Forget about that. It's a very bad way of thinking.

Defeat begins with the fear that one has lost.

Washington has always had a pretty healthy amount of self-loathing.

The more perfect our means of direct experience, the more easily we are caught by the dangerous illusion that perceiving is tantamount to knowing and understanding.