Real misery cuts off all paths to itself.

A long marriage is very unifying, even if it's not ideal, and those old structures must be respected.

We are such inward secret creatures, that inwardness is the most amazing thing about us, even more amazing than our reason.

All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.

Of course reading and thinking are important but, my God, food is important too. How fortunate we are to be food-consuming animals. Each meal should be a treat and one ought to bless every day which brings with it a good digestion and the precious gift of hunger.

I hate solitude but I am afraid of intimacy. The substance of my life is a private conversation with myself and to turn it into a dialogue would be equivalent to self-destruction. The company I need is the company which a pub or a cafe will provide. I have never wanted a communion of souls.

In almost every marriage there is a selfish and an unselfish partner. A pattern is set up and soon becomes inflexible, of one person always making the demands and one person always giving way.