Goodness, Truth and Beauty come first

The true novelist is one who understands the work as a continuous poem, is a myth-maker, and the wonder of the art resides in the endless different ways of telling a story.

The letters of famous people can be placed into two categories: there is the type of letter which becomes itself a valuable contribution to literature through its wit, style or wisdom; another kind is that whose main importance lies in the provision of a background to their author's life. Especially in the correspondence of great writers and poets, these two factors are very often combined.

The words of the double-tongued are as if they were harmless, but they reach even to the inner part of the bowels. Praise be to the Lord, who distinguishes our cause and delivers us from the unjust and deceitful man.

Nothing can be more puritanical in application than the virtues.

It is impossible to persuade a man who does not disagree, but smiles.

If you're going to do a thing, you should do it thoroughly. If you're going to be a Christian, you may as well be a Catholic.