I spend a hell of a lot of time killing animals and fish so I wouldn't kill myself. When a man is in rebellion against death, as I am in rebellion against death, he gets pleasure out of taking to himself one of the godlike attributes; that of giving it.

Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.

No good book has ever been written that has in it symbols arrived at beforehand and stuck in. ... I tried to make a real old man, a real boy, a real sea and a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things

I loved you when I saw you today and I loved you always but I never saw you before.

You can write any time people will leave you alone and not interrupt you. Or rather you can if you will be ruthless enough about it. But the best writing is certainly when you are in love. If it is all the same to you I would rather not expound on that.

Fish," he said softly, aloud, "I'll stay with you until I am dead.

Don't do what you sincerely don't want to do. Never confuse movement with action.