The world was in her heart already, like the small spot of decay in a fruit.

There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.

My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane.

Hate is a lack of imagination.

Our worst enemies here are not the ignorant and simple, however cruel; our worst enemies are the intelligent and corrupt

Innocence always calls mutely for protection when we would be so much wiser to guard ourselves against it: innocence is like a dumb leper who has lost his bell, wandering the world, meaning no harm.

Innocence is like a dumb leper who has lost his bell, wandering the world, meaning no harm.

A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.

A single feat of daring can alter the whole conception of what is possible.

Sweet are the thoughts that savor of content: the quiet mind is richer than a crown.

People who like quotes love meaningless generalizations

It takes more courage to disturb the neighborhood than it takes to disturb the universe. And the price is often higher.

Classical music gradually lost popularity because it is too complicated: you need twenty-five or thirty skilled musicians just to hum it properly. So people began to develop regular music.

The samurais lived with death constantly. They wore a short dagger to take their own life if need be. At any moment they might have to do that, it was a part of their code.

I do not know how to kiss, or I would kiss you. Where do the noses go?

At no point was my career under threat, so I always knew that I would get back into action.

I learned to focus and work hard and not give up. I learned that every obstacle is really an opportunity.

The days are gone when a country can issue orders to other peoples. Today, mankind needs culture, ideas and logic.

Any actress will tell you, when you've been given a starring role in the initial run of a show, you want to be getting the standing ovations every night, not just on review night.

I never really got into any records purely thinking of them as a breakup record. I mean, honestly, for me, listening to a breakup record whilst dealing with one seems counterproductive!

We're still fighting over the same issue - equal pay.