Shared danger is the strongest of bonds; it will keep men united in spite of mutual dislike and suspicion.

Rome has grown since its humble beginnings that it is now overwhelmed by its own greatness.

The populace is like the sea motionless in itself, but stirred by every wind, even the lightest breeze.

Men are slower to recognize blessings than evils.

A fraudulent intent, however carefully concealed at the outset, will generally, in the end, betray itself.

Adversity makes men remember God.

There is always more spirit in attack than in defence.

The old Romans all wished to have a king over them because they had not yet tasted the sweetness of freedom.

There is nothing worse than being ashamed of parsimony or poverty.

Great contests generally excite great animosities.

Truth is often eclipsed but never extinguished.

Have regrets. They are fuel. On the page they flare into desire.

I pick up Dylan. He certainly takes after his father: about three-quarters of his body weight seems to be head, and three-quarters of that is ears.

Use your profession to fund your passion.

It is not until you learn to look at yourself, through the truth of who you are, that you can look at someone else.

By deceiving Drona, Yudhishthira corrupts his teacher's relationship with the world. So do we every time we lie - we corrupt the 'other' in the same way.

Sentimentalism is the working off on yourself of feelings you haven't really got.

It must be understood that, as adults, we are all terminal.

"People's minds are trained largely at the expense of their hearts." This is not so; it is only that there are more educable minds than there are educable hearts.

If you really feel hatred for someone, and kind of send it their way, then it’s out of your system and in their hands. I always think it’s therapeutic.

As writers go, I have a skin of average thickness. I am pleased by a good review, disappointed by a bad. None of it penetrates far enough to influence the thing I write next.