When a person is down in the world an ounce of help is better than a pound of preaching.

How many of us have been attracted to reason; first learned to think, to draw conclusions, to extract a moral from the follies of life, by some dazzling aphorism.

The conscience is the most flexible material in the world. Today you cannot stretch it over a mole hill; while tomorrow it can hide a mountain.

He who writes prose builds his temple to Fame in rubble; he who writes verses builds it in granite.

Genius is but fine observation strengthened by fixity of purpose.

Men are valued, not for what they are, but for what they seem to be.

A fresh mind keeps the body fresh. Take in the ideas of the day, drain off those of yesterday.

A good cigar is as great a comfort to a man as a good cry to a woman.

Punctuality is the stern virtue of men of business, and the graceful courtesy of princes.

Love has no thought of self! Love buys not with the ruthless usurer's gold The loathsome prostitution of a hand Without a heart! Love sacrifices all things To bless the thing it loves!

A fresh mind keeps the body fresh.

Poverty is hereditary just like power, stupidity, and haemorrhoids.

Cool parents, I thought, are the ones who know nothing. It made me feel a little sad for mine, but I didn't say any of this.

Scent is like a kiss of time travel which transports one to an ancient memorable occasion.

If you love a flower which happens to be on a star, it is sweet at night to gaze at the sky. All the stars are a riot of flowers.

I think, in common with a lot of novelists, I wasn't the most athletic guy at school.

The world is a play that would not be worth seeing if we knew the plot.

They were checking us so closely, I could tell what brand of deodorant they were using.

The time has come - and must come - for multilateral conversations about a secure peace in all of Europe.

When you are trying to move mountains you want-and need-people on your side who want to move them with you.

In a way, I was almost happy to see her. The worst part of me, out in the flesh. Blinking back at me in the dim light, daring me to call her a name other than my own.