The tragedy of loss is not that we grieve, but that we cease to grieve, and then perhaps the dead are dead at last.

Generosity is a virtue for individuals, not governments. When governments are generous it is with other people’s money, other people’s safety, other people’s future.

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

Metaphysical speculation is about as pointless as a discussion on the meaning of one's lungs. They're for breathing.

We English are good at forgiving our enemies; it releases us from the obligation of liking our friends.

No literary form is more revealing, more spontaneous or more individual than a letter.

Publishers don't nurse you; they buy and sell you.