True generosity is a duty as indispensably necessary as those imposed upon us by the law. It is a rule imposed upon us by reason, which should be the sovereign law of a rational being.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

Blame where you must, be candid where you can, And be each critic the Good-natured Man.

To make a fine gentleman, several trades are required, but chiefly a barber.

One writer, for instance, excels at a plan or a title page, another works away at the body of the book, and a third is a dab at an index.

People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy.

I love everything that's old, - old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine.

A man who leaves home to mend himself and others is a philosopher; but he who goes from country to country, guided by the blind impulse of curiosity, is a vagabond.

Ridicule has always been the enemy of enthusiasm, and the only worthy opponent to ridicule is success.

Ceremonies are different in every country, but true politeness is everywhere the same.

Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.

There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.

Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice.

We're all going to hell anyway, why not enjoy the ride?

If a man has any genuine talent he should be ready to make almost any sacrifice in order to cultivate it to the full.

I wish always to be quoted as George Eliot.

Let no one go hungry away. If any of the kind of people should be in want of corn, supply their necessities, provided it does not encourage them in idleness.

I look for ambiguity when I'm writing because life is ambiguous.

In American cinema, people will take a chance on you, though they'll often remind you that really, they always liked you.

People will still make great art, but I think it's good to assume you will always be a failure. People were believing the opposite.

Retire me to my Milan, where Every third thought shall be my grave.