The world is changed not by the self-regarding, but by men and women prepared to make fools of themselves.

Don't just plan to write - write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.

I knew the facts of death before I knew the facts of life. There never was a time when I didn't see the skull beneath the skin.

Man is diminished if he lives without knowledge of his past; without hope of a future he becomes a beast.

No government can act in advance of the moral will of the people.

What the detective story is about is not murder but the restoration of order.

It's easy to get a reputation for wisdom. It's only necessary to live long, speak little and do less.