Nothing is more hopeless than a scheme of merriment.

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.

I write because I can remember and to keep those memories alive. I write for pleasure. I write because I must.

It's much easier to be convincing if you care about your topic. Figure out what's important to you about your message and speak from the heart.

In the realm of dream and imagination all men are equal.

The introduction of many minds into many fields of learning along a broad spectrum keeps alive questions about the accessibility, if not the unity, of knowledge.

I was so shy and when my sister was born I found it hard. I was really strange and kind of too quiet.

In 1994, nobody could have predicted 'Shawshank' would one day be an iconic movie - and believe me, that would never have happened if Danny Glover had been Red instead of Morgan Freeman.

Act strenuously, would appear to be our faith, and right thinking will take care of itself.

Until, one day, she wasn’t.

Violent men have not been known in history to die to a man. They die up to a point.

I never intended to be a politician or office-seeker.