A writer should not so much write as embroider on paper; the work should be painstaking, laborious.

Medicine is my lawful wife and literature my mistress; when I get tired of one, I spend the night with the other.

Brevity - the sister of talent.

The happy man only feels at ease because the unhappy bear their burden in silence. Without this silence, happiness would be impossible.

Country acquaintances are charming only in the country and only in the summer. In the city in winter they lose half of their appeal.

One usually dislikes a play while writing it, but afterward it grows on one. Let others judge and make decisions.

If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there.