He had no strength for any other war than his own solitary struggle to keep alive.

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.

If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with a stranger at a bar, they can conscientiously describe him as a source that has hitherto proved unimpeachable. It is only when the journalist is reporting a whim of his own, and one to which he attaches minor importance, that he defines it as the opinion of well-informed circles.

We cherish our friends not for their ability to amuse us, but for ours to amuse them...

We are American at puberty. We die French.

Only when one has lost all curiosity about the future has one reached the age to write an autobiography.

These memories, which are my life--for we possess nothing certainly except the past--were always with me.