The only horrible thing in the world is ennui.

I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.

Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

Oh, brothers! I don't care for brothers. My elder brother won't die, and my younger brothers seem never to do anything else.

If a man treats life artistically, his brain is his heart.

What fire does not destroy, it hardens

All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.

Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.

Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.

The basis of optimism is sheer terror.

Before thinking about what you are going to say, think about what I am saying.

If Columbus had had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock.

My music is like the perfect haircut-a Friday-night cut! It makes you feel like wanting to put on some nice clothes to go out and have a good time.

Leadership deals with people and their dynamics, which are continually changing. The challenge of leadership is to create change and facilitate growth.

Right now, if there's a gender gap problem, it's not Ronald Reagan with women; it's with Walter Mondale with men.

I've always believed the greater danger is not aiming too high, but too low, settling for a bogey rather than shooting for an eagle.

We are not especially 'interested in' animals. Neither of us had ever been inordinately fond of dogs, cats, or horses in the way that many people are. We didn't 'love' animals.

Humanity always becomes a conqueror.

Detective stories are the art-for-art's sake of yawning Philistinism.