Good sense about trivialities is better than nonsense about things that matter.
When hospitality becomes an art it loses its very soul.
No Roman ever was able to say, 'I dined last night with the Borgias'.
Improvisation is the essence of good talk. Heaven defend us from the talker who doles out things prepared for us; but let heaven not less defend us from the beautiful spontaneous writer who puts his trust in the inspiration of the moment.
I was a modest, good-humoured boy. It is Oxford that has made me insufferable.
Beauty and the lust for learning have yet to be allied.