I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven-eighths of it underwater for every part that shows.

Mice: What is the best early training for a writer? Y.C.: An unhappy childhood.

It was considered a virtue not to talk unnecessarily at sea.

No animal has more liberty than the cat, but it buries the mess it makes. The cat is the best anarchist.

Everything is your fault if you're any damn good.

So far, about morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.

You should only read what is truly good or what is frankly bad.