The requisitions of the income tax have added greatly to the attractions of mercenary crime.

[A] pessimist gets nothing but pleasant surprises, an optimist nothing but unpleasant.

The only thing I want is something I can't have; and that is to know if, 100 years from now, people will still buy my books.

I have a strong moral sense - by my standards.

Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth.

Measure your minds height by the shadow it casts.

Being broke is not a disgrace, it is only a catastrophe.

Every Sherlock Holmes story has at least one marvelous scene.

Sarcasm is not the rapier of wit its wielders seem to believe it to be, but merely a club: it may, by dint of brute force, occasionally raise bruises, but it never cuts or pierces.

The more you put in your brain, the more it will hold - if you have one.

I don't approve of open fires. You can't think, or talk or even make love in front of a fireplace. All you can do is stare at it.

When you've learned to laugh at the things that should be laughed at, and not to laugh at those that shouldn't, you've got wisdom and understanding.

Lincoln, considering a Cabinet nominee: "He is a Radical without the petulance and fretfulness of many radicals.

Why, when I was a child, I didn't say, as most children do, that I was going to become an actress. I felt that I was an actress and no one could have convinced me that I wasn't!

Fifteen Minutes of Notoriety Beats the Best Advertising Money Can Buy

The Gospel was not meant merely to reside in our intellect, memories, and tongues, but to be seen in our lives.

Fascination is one step beyond interest. Interested people want to know if it works. Fascinated people want to learn how it works.

There is a time to let things happen, and a time to make things happen." "Life is what happens when you are making other plans.

Their smiles are lies. Most smiles are.

I think it's great when stories are dark and strange and weirdly personal.

Someone told me once that I'm worse than a dog, I'm the scum of the earth, so for me it was draining.