Probably one of the reasons why gushing is so unattractive is that it leaves nothing for the listener to do.

a diplomat ... is not worthy of the name unless he can say 'no' and make the other person like it - or at least not be offended by it.

Flirting is a cheap, dangerous shortcut to get something you can't hold after you get it.

You can never be free from limitation until you are willing to recognize that you and you alone are responsible for what you are. After you have passed infancy you are not a victim of anything but your own thinking.

If Democracy should fail, it would be because we had been so lacking in self-discipline that our personal problems had taken all our substance and energies, leaving us nothing of value to contribute to the commonwealth.

So few people can think and talk at the same time.

they're the sort of people one invites to lunch or tea, but never to dinner.