The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading. One could almost write a whole chapter on him. Perhaps not a whole chapter but a resonable paragraph, at any rate. There was so much else to include, and one must be firm in cutting out details. He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: `The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.'

If one finger brings oil it soils the others.

A man who makes trouble for others is also making trouble for himself.

My weapon is literature

I wouldn't have wanted anyone to teach me how to write. That's my own taste. I prefer to stumble on it.

I think writers are not only writers, they are also citizens.

When a mad man walks naked, it is his kinsmen who feel shame, not himself.