In London, love and scandal are considered the best sweeteners of tea.

Royalty is the gold filling in a mouthful of decay

Don't clap too hard - it's a very old building.

Writers don't need love; all they require is money.

Go on - but don't think you can kill my confidence. I've had experts doing it for years.

I must be the luckiest man in the world. Not only am I bisexual, I am also Welsh.

They spend their time looking forward to the past.

A refined sort of butcher, a woman is.

We all of us waited for him to die. The family sent him a check every month, and hoped he'd get on with it quietly, without too much vulgar fuss.

Don't be afraid of being emotional. You won't die of it.

Asking a writer what he thinks about criticism is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs.

This is not a universe that is advancing toward a goal

When people call you by names you don't want to hear, adorn yourself with those 'names'. They take you to places, which those people will not be able to even pronounce.

And yet I am convinced that man will never give up true suffering- that is, destruction and chaos. Why, suffering is the sole root of consciousness.

Of all escape mechanisms, death is the most efficient.

People - me included - want to get excited about books. Good books are a good thing.

I dream of vague shapes that hint of my heart's desire.

So far as good writing goes, the use of the exclamation mark is a sign of failure. It is the literary equivalent of a man holding up a card reading LAUGHTER to a studio audience.

The imitator treads a beaten walk, and with all his diligence can only find a few flowers or branches untouched by his predecessor, the refuse of contempt, or the omissions of negligence.

I am a scientist and I am a physician. So I write papers.

There are matters in the Bible, said to be done by the express commandment of God, that are shocking to humanity and to every idea we have of moral justice.