I admire writers who can make complicated things simple, but my own talent has been to make simple things complicated.

Tis e'er the lot of the innocent in the world, to fly to the wolf for succor from the lion.

Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story.

In art as in lovemaking, heartfelt ineptitude has its appeal and so does heartless skill, but what you want is passionate virtuosity.

The Bible is not man's word about God, but God's word about man.

A curious thing about written literature: It is about four thousand years old, but we have no way of knowing whether four thousand years constitutes senility or the maiden blush of youth.

Tis e'er the wont of simple folk to prize the deed and o'erlook the motive, and of learned folk to discount the deed and lay open the soul of the doer.