A man of active and resilient mind outwears his friendships just as certainly as he outwears his love affairs, his politics and his epistemology.

The verdict of a jury is the a priori opinion of that juror who smokes the worst cigars.

When somebody says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money.

One does not arise from such a book as Sister Carrie with a smirk of satisfaction; one leaves it infinitely touched.

The New Deal began, like the Salvation Army, by promising to save humanity. It ended, again like the Salvation Army, by running flop-houses and disturbing the peace.

One yearns unspeakably for a composer who gives out his pair of honest themes, and then develops them unashamed, and then hangs a brisk coda to them, and then shuts up.

Immortality is the condition of a dead man who doesn't believe he is dead