The essence of humor is that it should be unexpected, that it should embody an element of surprise, that it should startle us out of that reasonable gravity which, after all, must be our habitual frame of mind.

Bargaining is essential to the life of the world; but nobody has ever claimed that it is an ennobling process.

There is a secret and wholesome conviction in the heart of every man or woman who has written a book that it should be no easy matter for an intelligent reader to lay down that book unfinished. There is a pardonable impression among reviewers that half an hour in its company is sufficient.

Believers in political faith-healing enjoy a supreme immunity from doubt.

Neatness of phrase is so closely akin to wit that it is often accepted as its substitute.

I do strive to think well of my fellow man, but no amount of striving can give me confidence in the wisdom of a congressional vote.

fair play is less characteristic of groups than of individuals.