She looked at me like I was crazy. Most of my lovers do, and that's partly why they love me, and partly why they leave

When you are wrestling for possession of a sword, the man with the handle always wins.

The difference between stupid and intelligent people - and this is true whether or not they are well-educated - is that intelligent people can handle subtlety.

This is one of the two great labyrinths into which human minds are drawn: the question of free will versus predestination.

You should not believe a thing only because you like to believe it. We call that 'Diax's Rake.

To condense fact from the vapor of nuance.

Any property that's open to common use gets destroyed. Because everyone has incentive to use it to the max, but no one has incentive to maintain it.

See, the world is full of things more powerful than us. But if you know how to catch a ride, you can go places.

Constable Moore had reached the age when men can subject their bodies to the worst irritations - whisky, cigars, woolen clothes, bagpipes - without feeling a thing or, at least, without letting on.

And it happened all the time that the compromise between two perfectly rational alternatives was something that made no sense at all.

The difference between ignorant and educated people is that the latter know more facts. But that has nothing to do with whether they are stupid or intelligent.

Every man should lose a battle in his youth, so he does not lose a war when he is old.

When I ache to live, my mind loves to stay with the peaceful whiteness of a pigeon’s care...in boundless amity..

Certainly all virtues are very dear to God, but humility pleases Him above all the others, and it seems that He can refuse it nothing.

Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.

I like to be bought flowers and taken out for dinner. I like a man to be a gentleman. I don't like to be treated as if I am brainless. I like to be respected and to give respect.

While the notion that torture works has been glorified in television shows and movies, the simple truth is this: torture has never been an effective interrogation method.

It seems to me that no one picture can ever be a final summation of a personality. There are so many facets in every human being that it is impossible to present them all in one photograph.

Anyone can have a once-upon-a-time or a happily-ever-after, but it's the journey between that makes the story worth telling.

First person narrative is a very effective tool but you have to know as a writer how to make it work.

Respect is a serious thing in him who feels it, and the height of honor for him who inspires the feeling.