There are two barriers that often prevent communication between the young and their elders. The first is middle-aged forgetfulness of the fact that they themselves are no longer young. The second is youthful ignorance of the fact that the middle aged are still alive.

It is very easy to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own.

Each death and departure comes to us as a surprise, a sorrow never anticipated. Life is a long series of farewells; only the circumstances should surprise us.

Being consistent meant not departing from convictions already formulated; being a leader meant making other persons accept these convictions. It was a narrow track, and a one-way, but a person might travel a considerable distance on it. A number of dictators have.

The source of one's joy is also often the source of one's sorrow.

Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.

We can love an honest rogue, but what is more offensive than a false saint?