Sex annihilates identity, and the space given to sex in contemporary novels is an avowal of the absence of character.

Being abroad makes you conscious of the whole imitative side of human behavior. The ape in man.

We are a nation of 20 million bathrooms, with a humanist in every tub.

I was going to get myself recognized at any price. If I could not win fame by goodness, I was ready to do it by badness.

It is impossible, except for theologians, to conceive of a world-wide scandal or a universe-wide scandal; the proof of this is the way people have settled down to living with nuclear fission, radiation poisoning, hydrogen bombs, satellites, and space rockets.

The erotic element always present in fashion, the kiss of loving labor on the body, is now overtly expressed by language. Belts hug or clasp; necklines plunge; jerseys bind. The word exciting tingles everywhere.

To be disesteemed by people you don't have much respect for is not the worst fate.