There is something in our minds like sunshine and the weather, which is not under our control. When I write, the best things come to me from I know not where.

We have to believe that everything has a cause, as the spider spins its web in order to catch flies. But it does this before it knows there are such things as flies.

Many intelligent people, when about to write . . . , force on their minds a certain notion about style, just as they screw up their faces when they sit for their portraits.

It often takes more courage to change one's opinion than to stick to it.

Affectation is a very good word when someone does not wish to confess to what he would none the less like to believe of himself.

If all mankind were suddenly to practice honesty, many thousands of people would be sure to starve.

One of the greatest creations of the human mind is the art of reviewing books without having read them.