There is nothing which at once affects a man so much and so little as his own death.

Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.

Human life is as evanescent as the morning dew or a flash of lightning.

If I die prematurely at any rate I shall be saved from being bored to death by my own success.

Life is like music; it must be composed by ear, feeling, and instinct, not by rule.

Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud.

Don't learn to do, but learn in doing.

Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself.

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.

People care more about being thought to have taste than about being thought either good, clever or amiable.

Let us be grateful to the mirror for revealing to us our appearance only.

I do not think white America is committed to granting equality to the American Negro. This is a passionately racist country it will continue to be so in the foreseeable future.

Dark and sour humours, especially those which have a spice of malevolence in them, are vastly disagreeable. Such men have no music in their souls.

Truth is so good a thing that falsehood can not afford to be without it.

Like a garden that is carefully tended, the rewards are well worth the effort.

There is at least one more atheism left; it is by its very nature a belligerent form that wants to spread far and wide by propagating itself though books, TV, and other media.

My life is more to me than all the wealth of Ilius

Just to get serious about this thing, you know. One has to be compassionate. It's true that people are up against things, economically and emotionally.

You can park your snark at the gate, Omaha.

It is not being deceived, but undeceived, that renders us miserable.

I don't want to hurt you," he said. "Too late.