Young men want to be faithful, and are not. Old men want to be faithless, and cannot.

The aim of love is to love. No more, no less.

Few parents nowadays pay any regard to what their children say to them. The old fashioned respect for the young is fast dying out.

An acquaintance that begins with a compliment is sure to develop into a real friendship.

Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man's face. It cannot be concealed. People talk sometimes of secret vices, there are no such things. If a wretched man has a vice, it shows itself in the lines of his mouth, the droop of his eyelids, the moulding of his hands even.

The basis of optimism is sheer terror.

Simple pleasures are the last healthy refuge in a complex world.