There were sins whose fascination was more in the memory than in the doing of them, strange triumphs that gratified the pride more than the passions, and gave to the intellect a quickened sense of joy, greater than any joy they brought, or could ever bring, to the senses.

All charming people, I fancy, are spoiled. It is the secret of their attraction.

Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals.

As for the virtuous poor, one can pity them of course, but one cannot possibly admire them.

The great poet is always a seer, seeing less with the eyes of the body than he does with the eyes of the mind.

I cannot choose one hundred best books because I have only written five

The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing.