It is not true that there is dignity in all work. Some jobs are definitely better than others.

Think before you speak. Read before you think. This will give you something to think about that you didn't make up yourself - a wise move at any age, but most especially at seventeen, when you are in the greatest danger of coming to annoying conclusions.

In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra.

The French probably invented the very notion of discretion. It's not that they feel that what you don't know won't hurt you; they feel that what you don't know won't hurt them. To the French lying is simply talking.

I never would start writing before midnight and I would finish at, like, seven in the morning.

My dream writing room would be the Imperial Library in Vienna.

What's the point of being young if you're not going to make new things, I wonder?