I conceive that the right way to write a story for boys is to write so that it will not only interest boys but strongly interest any man who has ever been a boy. That immensely enlarges the audience.

An inglorious peace is better than a dishonorable war.

In the South the war is what A.D. is elsewhere; they date from it.

The timid man yearns for full value and demands a tenth. The bold man strikes for double value and compromises on par.

The radical of one century is the conservative of the next.

I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English―it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them―then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.

The more I know people, the more I love my dog.