Folk-lore means that the soul is sane, but that the universe is wild and full of marvels. Realism means that the world is dull and full of routine, but that the soul is sick and screaming. The problem of the fairy tale is: what will a healthy man do with a fantastic world? The problems of the modern novel is: what will a madman do with a dull world? In the fairy tales the cosmos goes mad; but the hero does not go mad. In the modern novels the hero is mad before the book begins, and suffers from the harsh steadiness and cruel sanity of the cosmos.

With all that we hear of American hustle and hurry, it is rather strange that Americans seem to like to linger on longer words.

The essence of all pantheism, evolutionism, and modern cosmic religion is really this proposition: that nature is our mother. Unfortunately, if you regard Nature as a mother, you discover she is a step-mother.

Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain. Meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure.

It seems to me,' said the other, 'That you are simply seeking a pretext to insult the Marquis.' By George!' said Syme facing round and looking at him, 'What a clever chap you are!

Literature and fiction are two entirely different things. Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.

The first two facts which a healthy boy or girl feels about sex are these: first that it is beautiful and then that it is dangerous.