The real reason for quest is always self-knowledge.

The difference between being Achilles and almost being Achilles is the difference between living and dying.

Real people are made out of a whole lot of things—flesh, bone, blood, nerves, stuff like that. Literary people are made out of words.

Every language has a grammar, a set of rules that govern usage and meaning, and literary language is no different. It’s all more or less arbitrary of course, just like language itself.

Reading is an activity of the imagination, and the imagination in question is not the writer's alone.

If a story is no good, being based on Hamlet won't save it.

Rain falls on the just and the unjust alike.

In order to remain undead, I must steal the life force of someone whose fate matters less to me than my own.' I've always supposed that Wall Street traders utter essentially the same sentence.

Please note, I am not suggesting that illicit drugs are required to break down social barriers.

Now, Joyce being Joyce, he has about five different purposes, one not being enough for genius.

Even the beautiful eyes have seen ugly things

The essence of investment management is the management of risks, not the management of returns.

Everyone tells me I've had such an interesting life, but sometimes I think it's been nothing but stomach disturbances and self-concern.

Everybody has to sell out at some point to make a living.

In every school, more boys wanted to be remembered as a star athlete than as a brilliant student.

People should learn that you cannot dwell in your past. One who dwells in the past hurts not only himself, but also the people around him.

Nothing good comes of reading other people's emails.

What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?

Was Mann himself fully aware of all the facets of his irony? Probably not - any more than Shakespeare was fully aware of all the riches subsequent critics have found in his plays.

The fact that I still want the best for the world is kind of amazing. People slandered me for years and years and years. I would say to them, "Thanks for having a closed mind".