Not everyone grows to be old, but everyone has been younger than he is now.

The worse I am, the more I need God. I can't shut myself out from His mercy. That is what it would mean; starting a life with you, without Him. Julia to Charles

I regard writing not as an investigation of character but as an exercise in the use of language, and with this I am obsessed.

I put the words down and push them a bit.

My father and I were never intimate in the sense of my coming to him with confidences or seeking advice. Our relationship was rather that of host and guest. Perhaps host and guest is really the happiest relation for father and son.

It doesn't matter what people call you unless they call you pigeon pie and eat you up.

Properly understood, style is not a seductive decoration added to a functional structure; it is of the essence of a work of art. The necessary elements of style are lucidity, elegance, and individuality; these three qualities combine to form a preservative which ensures the nearest approximation to permanence in the fugitive art of letters.