Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

There was purification in punishment. Not 'Forgive us our sins,' but 'Smite us for our iniquities' should be the prayer of a man to a most just God.

The only real people are the people who never existed.

People are very fond of giving away what they need most themselves. It is what I call the depth of generosity.

I must decline your invitation owing to a subsequent engagement.

The 19thc hatred of Realism is Caliban's enraged reaction to seeing his own face in the mirror. The 19thc rejection of Romanticism is Caliban's fury at not seeing his face reflected in the mirror.

She doth mean the earth to me! By earth, I actually mean dust.