Merriment is always the effect of a sudden impression. The jest which is expected is already destroyed.

Cucumber should be well sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.

Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.

Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.

When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.

Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.

A man who uses a great many words to express his meaning is like a bad marksman who, instead of aiming a single stone at an object, takes up a handful and throws at it in hopes he may hit.

There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain.

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.

He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts.

As history has also shown, especially in the twentieth century, one of the first things an ideologue will do after achieving absolute power is kill.

Influencing is just not about listening and speaking, it’s the game of interpretation.

Who can't like pigs? They're wonderful creatures! I've always liked pigs.

A kid in an abusive home has far fewer rights than any POW. There is no Geneva Convention for kids.

One might just as well trust in the "good luck" of a rabbit's foot as to hope for spiritual benefit from a Catholic scapular, medal, crucifix, or relic of an alleged "saint."

When I die, I want to see Malcom X, Lumumba, my father, and I want to be able to look them in the eye

I don't particularly like it when people put words in my mouth, either, by the way, unless I say it.

Salad freshens without enfeebling and fortifies without irritating.

So I let her go, too. And I'm sorry.

When I get angry, I start thinking about the people involved and they don't deserve my time.