Romantic Orientalism was fascinated by the color and excitement of a powerful culture, and nearly always approached its subject with love.

Besides, we weren't made to battle villains, because there weren't any. No nation, creed, or race was any better or worse than another; all were flawed, all were equally doomed to suffering, mostly because they couldn't see that they were all alike. Mortals might have been contemptible, true, but not evil entirely. They did enjoy killing one another and frequently came up with ingenious excuses for doing so on a grand scale-religions, economic theories, ethnic pride-but we couldn't condemn them for it, as it was in their mortal natures and they were too stupid to know any better.

If you want to see what stage comedians did to get laffs a century ago, watch the 1910 'Wizard of Oz.' I hope you have a high tolerance for pratfalls.

England was a cold, backward, rebellious little kingdom. It's king: Henry the Eighth, remembered principally for his six wives and the chicken legs clutched in his fat fists.

The 1910 Edison film of Frankenstein was itself a dead thing revived by technology.

One should always avoid unnecessary unhappiness. Especially if one is an immortal. They taught us that in school.

I may cut my coat to follow fashion, sir, but not my conscience.