There are no witches. The witch text remains; only the practice has changed. Hell fire is gone, but the text remains. Infant damnation is gone, but the text remains. More than two hundred death penalties are gone from the law books, but the texts that authorized them remain.

In writing, I shall always confine myself strictly to the truth, except when it is attended with inconvenience.

The older we grow the greater becomes our wonder at how much ignorance one can contain without bursting one's clothes.

The miracle or the power that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application and perseverance under the promptings of a brave, determined spirit.

But we are all insane, anyway ... The suicides seem to be the only sane people.

I am not an American. I am the American.

Once you've put one of his [Henry James] books down, you simply can't pick it up again.