To marry a man out of pity is folly; and, if you think you are going to influence the kind of fellow who has never had a chance, poor devil, you are profoundly mistaken. One can only influence the strong characters in life, not the weak; and it is the height of vanity to suppose that you can make an honest man of anyone.

What a pity, when Christopher Colombus discovered America, that he ever mentioned it.

The Almighty is a wonderful handicapper: He will not give us everything.

The power to love what is purely abstract is given to few.

[To her host upon leaving a party:] Don't think it hasn't been charming, because it hasn't.

He couldn't see a belt without hitting below it.

Symbols are the imaginative signposts of life.