I could not conjure up one melancholy fancy upon a mutton chop and a glass of champagne.

It is always the best policy to speak the truth, unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar.

I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.

People who have tried it, tell me that a clear conscience makes you very happy and contented; but a full stomach does the business quite as well, and is cheaper, and more easily obtained.

A good woman's arms round a man's neck is a lifebelt thrown out to him from heaven.

Opportunities flit by while we sit regretting the chances we have lost, and the happiness that comes to us we heed not, because of the happiness that is gone.

Love is like the measles; we all have to go through it.

They [dogs] never talk about themselves but listen to you while you talk about yourself, and keep up an appearance of being interested in the conversation.

What I am looking for is a blessing not in disguise.

It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.

If there is one person I do despise more than another, it is the man who does not think exactly the same on all topics as I do.

Prescription: A physician's guess at what will best prolong the situation with least harm to the patient.

If you steadfastly refused to quit, you rapidly narrowed your options to only winning.

I am struck by the fact that personal faith and political agendas are intertwined more closely now than at any other time in recent history.

Instantaneity is photography.

I can’t tell by looking in your eyes whether you’re a priest or a crook.

The history of the Internet is, in part, a series of opportunities missed.

I really do believe that people surprise you. And one of the powerful things about novels is that they're about characters, and those characters live their lives.

Desire, instead of being an obstacle to an inspired and fulfilled life, is the very thing that propels you toward it.

To a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape.

Future is not extrapolation of past