We must never forget that human motives are generally far more complicated than we are apt to suppose, and that we can very rarely accurately describe the motives of another.

The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he's in prison.

Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.

If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know a man ... just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he's a good man.

Learning to love is hard and we pay dearly for it. It takes hard work and a long apprenticeship, for it is not just for a moment that we must learn to love, but forever.

People speak sometimes about the "bestial" cruelty of man, but that is terribly unjust and offensive to beasts, no animal could ever be so cruel as a man, so artfully, so artistically cruel.

It is better to be unhappy and know the worst, than to be happy in a fool's paradise.

Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him.

I think the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness.

Don’t be overwise; fling yourself straight into life, without deliberation; don’t be afraid - the flood will bear you to the bank and set you safe on your feet again.

The most offensive is not their lying - one can always forgive lying - lying is a delightful thing, for it leads to truth - what is offensive is that they lie and worship their own lying.

The gift of life is present at every moment — even moments that seem insignificant or unpleasant.

I wasn't afraid to fail. Something good always comes out of failure.

I wasn't good at examinations, but I went to a very good secondary school - Bolton-on-Dearne - with wonderful teachers, who taught me drama and encouraged me in every way.

The idea of directing was something that I always had in the back of my mind, and writing as well. I began to write screenplays when I was in my 20's.

In school, I was the quietest girl ever! I had a lot of trouble in school. Kids were mean to me.

When there's a piano to be moved, don't reach for the stool.

Make sure when you fall you land on your back if you can see you can get up.

Hollywood would much prefer the author be dead, so that they can buy the book and do what they want to do with it.

Such a bad mistake it would be, to embark on marriage and adult life without a nice supply of duct tape.

How but in custom and in ceremony are innocence and beauty born?