Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward it is not a compliment to say it is brave; it is merely a loose application of the word. Consider the flea! - incomparably the bravest of all the creatures of God, if ignorance of fear were courage.

The difference between fiction and nonfiction is that fiction must be absolutely believable.

The pulpit and the optimist are always talking about the human race's steady march toward ultimate perfection. As usual, they leave out the statistics. It is the pulpit's way - the optimist's way.

Our consciences take no notice of pain inflicted on others until it reaches a point where it gives pain to us.

While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats.

We like to read about rich people in the newspapers; the papers know it, and they do their best to keep this appetite liberally fed.