[On fishing:] Greatest rest in the world for the brain.

it is axiomatic with most writing people that there are no such things as perfect conditions for work.

Courage was America's watchword, but a courage of the body rather than of the soul - physical courage, not moral.

Peace is not a passive but an active condition, not a negation but an affirmation.

there is something shameful about the death of a play. It does not die with pity, but contempt. A book may fail, but who is there to know it? It dies and is buried, and is decently interred on the bookseller's shelf; but the play dies to laughter, to scorn and disdain.

It's the safety valve of middle life, and the solace of age.

[To her frequently needed plumber:] How would you like to be adopted? I'm sure it would be cheaper.