Perhaps in nearly every joy, as certainly in every pleasure, cruelty has its place.

Scepticism is the beginning of Faith.

It was not intended as a compliment. It was a confession. Now that I have made it, something seems to have gone out of me. Perhaps one should never put one's worship into words.

Nature is a wet place where large numbers of ducks fly overhead uncooked.

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

The cities of America are inexpressibly tedious. The Bostonians take their learning too sadly; culture with them is an accomplishment rather than an atmosphere; their Hub, as they call it, is the paradise of prigs. Chicago is a sort of monster-shop, full of bustles and bores. Political life at Washington is like political life in a suburban vestry. Baltimore is amusing for a week, but Philadelphia is dreadfully provincial; and though one can dine in New York one could not dwell there.

A man can be happy with any woman, as long as he does not love her.