The principles of true art is not to portray, but to evoke.

There must be no worse punishment to a totalitarian nation than the withdrawal of capital.

Take whatever you can from others, and when there is nothing left, forget about them.

[Nabokov's] language is made visible . . . like a veil or transparent curtain. You cannot help seeing the curtain as you peek into the intimate rooms behind.

The principles of true art is not to portray, but to evoke.

I suppress in my prose any language which calls attention to itself.

Chance was to work in the garden, where he would care for plants and grasses and trees which grew there peacefully. He would be as one on them: quiet, open hearted in the sunshine and heavy when it rained.