But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture it's fatal not to go through with it.

I will try not to panic, to keep my standard of living modest and to work steadily, even shyly, in the spirit of those medieval carvers who so fondly sculpted the undersides of choir seats.

If you're telling me I'm not mature, that's one thing I don't cry over since as far as I can make out it's the same thing as being dead.

Life is like an overlong drama through which we sit being nagged by the vague memories of having read the reviews.

Adversity in immunological doses has its uses; more than that crushes.

Most of American life consists of driving somewhere and then returning home, wondering why the hell you went.

An American in London...cannot but be impressed and charmed by the city. The momumentality of Washington, the thriving business of New York, the antique intimacy of Boston, plus a certain spacious and open feeling reminiscent of Denver and San Francisco-all these he finds combined for his pleasure.