Every man over forty is a scoundrel.

It is clear that a novel cannot be too bad to be worth publishing. . . . It certainly is possible for a novel to be too good to be worth publishing.

The savage bows down to idols of wood and stone, the civilized man to idols of flesh and blood

Spend all you have before you die, and do not outlive yourself.

A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out.

O Lord! I don't know which is the worst of the country, the walking or the sitting at home with nothing to do.

Here there is no hope, and consequently no duty, no work, nothing to be gained by praying, nothing to be lost by doing what you like. Hell, in short, is a place where you have nothing to do but amuse yourself.