Let wife and child perish, and lay bricks for your last crust, rather than part with an iota of your [copy]rights.

You must not suppose, because I am a man of letters, that I never tried to earn an honest living.

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

We are the living graves of murdered beasts.

Which painting in the National Gallery would I save if there was a fire? The one nearest the door of course.

Why, except as a means of livelihood, a man should desire to act on the stage when he has the whole world to act in, is not clear to me.

A man of genius is not a man who sees more than other men do. On the contrary, it is very often found that he is absentminded andobserves much less than other people.... Why is it that the public have such an exaggerated respect for him--after he is dead? The reason is that the man of genius understands the importance of the few things he sees.