Your quest is for darkness only. This sea is not your sea. The myths of men are not your myths. Men's treasures are not yours.

I'm Gentleman Death in silk and lace, come to put out the candles. The canker in the heart of the rose.

Revenge is the concern of those who are at some point or other beaten. I am not beaten, I told myself. No, not beaten. And victory is far more interesting to contemplate than revenge.

Let the flesh instruct the mind.

I love New Orleans physically. I love the trees and the balmy air and the beautiful days. I have a beautiful house here.

It's an awful truth that suffering can deepen us, give a greater lustre to our colours, a richer resonance to our words. That is, if it doesn't destroy us, if it doesn't burn away the optimism and the spirit, the capacity for visions, and the respect for simple yet indispensable things.

Life itself must be founded upon the infinite possibility for choice and accident. And if we cannot prove that it is, we must believe that it is. We must believe that we can change, that we can control, that we can direct our own destinies.