We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.

I don't want to earn a living. I want to live.

One must have some sort of occupation nowadays. If I hadn't my debts I shouldn't have anything to think about.

Oh, no doubt the cod is a splendid swimmer - admirable for swimming purposes but not for eating.

Unless one is wealthy there is no use in being a charming fellow. Romance is the privilege of the rich, not the profession of the unemployed. The poor should be practical and prosaic. It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating.

The intellect is not a serious thing, and never has been. It is an instrument on which one plays, that is all.

Well, one must be serious about something, if one wants to have any amusement in life.