There is nothing in itself which is wrong or evil not even murder.

Often, when following the trail which meanders over the hills, I pull myself up in an effort to encompass the glory and the grandeur which envelops the whole horizon. Often, when the clouds pile up in the north and the sea is churned with white caps, I say to myself: "This is the California that men dreamed of years ago, this is the Pacific that Balboa looked out on from the Peak of Darien, this is the face of the earth as the Creator intended it to look.

I feel that America is essentially against the artist, that the enemy of America is the artist, because he stands for individuality and creativeness, and that's un-American somehow.

I have always looked upon decay as being just as wonderful and rich an expression of life as growth.

For one crime which is expiated in prison ten thousand are committed thoughtlessly by those who condemn.

Leave out the parts that readers tend to skip.

I had no more need of God than He had of me, and if there were one, I often said to myself, I would meet Him calmly and spit in His face.