Our true birthplace is that in which we cast for the first time an intelligent eye on ourselves. My first homelands were my books.

Our true birthplace is that in which we cast for the first time an intelligent eye on ourselves. My first homelands were my books.

A touch of madness is, I think, almost always necessary for constructing a destiny.

The true birthplace is that wherein for the first time one looks intelligently upon oneself; my first homelands have been books, and to a lesser degree schools.

I believe that friendship, like love, of which it is a particular kind, requires nearly as much art as a successful choreography.

Want of passion is, I think, a very striking characteristic of Americans, not unrelated to their predilection for violence. For very few people truly have a passionate desire to achieve, and violence serves as a kind of substitute.

Love is a punishment. We are punished for not having been strong enough to remain alone.