I would rather take hellebore than spend a conversation with a good, little man.

Herman Melville was as separated from a civilized literature as the lost Atlantis was said to have been from the great peoples of the earth.

We cannot live, suffer or die for somebody else, for suffering is too precious to be shared.

When one realizes that his life is worthless he either commits suicide or travels.

Nothing in our times has become so unattractive as virtue.

Recognize the cunning man not by the corpses he pays homage to but by the living writers he conspires against with the most shameful weapon, Silence, or the briefest review.

It takes a long time to understand nothing.

Writing is conscience, scruple, and the farming of our ancestors.

It is very perplexing how an intrepid frontier people, who fought a wilderness, floods, tornadoes, and the Rockies, cower before criticism, which is regarded as a malignant tumor in the imagination.

A strong foe is better than a weak friend.

Narcissus never wrote well nor was a friend.

I've always thought I've got to work and I want to work. When I was younger I had friends who on a Saturday would be going out to the shops but I was working from 8.30am to 6.30pm. I w

I've gone through so much in my life. I should have been dead a long time ago, but I am still here, and I'm the happiest I've ever been.

I think it would be very difficult to play somebody if they didn't think they had any virtues or redeeming characteristics.

I am a chatty person, but colossally discreet.

The best age is the age you are.

Our appointment with life is in the present moment. If we do not have peace and joy right now, when will we have peace and joy?

Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an enlightened person. There is only enlightened activity.

Take courage and work on. Patience and steady work- this is the only way.

The first year of the Boot Ride was an amazing experience. Seeing people come out from all over, ride and, most importantly, put on their boots, was an inspiration.

He's one of the last friends I have," she says, her voice breaking. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to look at you the same way again.