You lose the world for a glance? Of course you do. That is what the world is for: to lose under the right circunstances.

The best form of government is one that is dying, because that means it’s giving way to something else.

Writers of either gender ought to be able to do the opposite sex-that's one basic test of competence, after all.

His air of failure had nothing desperate about it; rather, it seemed to stem from an unresented realisation that he was not cut out for success, and his duty was therefore to ensure only that he failed in the correct and acceptable fashion.

What is the easiest, the most comfortable thing for a writer to do? To congratulate the society in which he lives: to admire its biceps, applaud its progress, tease it endearingly about its follies.

Most people, in my opinion, steal much of what they are. If they didn't what poor items they would be.

And if you had no tongue, no celebrating language, you’d do this: cross your hands at the wrist with palms facing towards you; place your crossed wrists over your heart (the middle of your chest, anyway); then move your hands outwards a short distance, and open them towards the object of your love. It’s just as eloquent as speech.