No man born of woman has ever understood spoken Portuguese.

I am opposed to authority, that egg of misery and oppression; I am opposed to it largely for what it does to those who exercise it.

For me the process works best with no interruptions, no breaks in the steady application, no letters to be answered, very little social life, no holidays; it is therefore a form of happy imprisonment.

It is a great while since I felt the grind of bone under my saw,' he added, smiling with anticipation.

... it has always seemed to me that books are the supreme decorations of a room

I do not say that all lawyers are bad, but I do maintain that the general tendency is bad: standing up in a court for whichever side has paid you, affecting warmth and conviction, and doing everything you can to win the case, whatever your private opinion may be, will soon dull any fine sense of honour. The mercenary soldier is not a valued creature, but at least he risks his life, whereas these men merely risk their next fee.

Compulsion is the death of friendship.