The true function of a writer is to produce a masterpiece and no other task is of any consequence.

Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped at once.

We create the world in which we live; if that world becomes unfit for human life, it is because we tire of our responsibility.

The artist is a member of the leisured classes who cannot pay for his leisure.

In youth the life of reason is not in itself sufficient; afterwards the life of emotion, except for short periods, becomes unbearable.

The dread of loneliness is greater than the fear of bondage, so we get married.

Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising.