Without danger I cannot be great. That is how I pay for Abel's blood. Danger and fear follow my steps everywhere. Without them courage would have no sense. And it is courage, courage, courage that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor.

You can rave about Stravinsky without the slightest risk of being classified as a lunatic by the next generation .

I believe in the discipline of silence, and could talk for hours about it.

Islam is the best religion and Muslims are the worst followers

All autobiographies are lies. I do not mean unconscious, unintentional lies: I mean deliberate lies.

With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott, whom I can despise so entirely as I despise Shakespeare when I measure my mind against his. . . . It would positively be a relief to me to dig him up and throw stones at him.

Besides, do any of us understand what we are doing? If we did, would we ever do it?