Lonely. I always thought loneliness meant alone, without people. It means something else.

Intellectuals can tell themselves anything, sell themselves any bill of goods, which is why they were so often patsies for the ruling classes in 19th-century France and England, or 20th-century Russia and America.

I like people who refuse to speak until they are ready to speak.

If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves.

Courtesy is breeding. Breeding is an excellent thing. Always remember that.

I've always had great satisfaction out of writing the plays. I've not always had great satisfaction out of seeing them produced-although often I've had satisfaction there. When things go well in production, on opening there's no nicer feeling in the world-what could be nicer than watching an audience respond? You can't that from a book. It's a fine feeling to walk into the theater and see living people respond to something you've done.

But maybe half a lie is worse than a real lie.