A good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life, and as such it must surely be a necessary commodity.

Helping other people is a drug so dangerous that there is no cure short of total abstention.

On the whole, I think you should write biographies of those you admire and respect, and novels about human beings who you think are sadly mistaken.

If they don't depend on true evidence, scientists are no better than gossips.

Duty is what no-one else will do at the moment.

A good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life, and as such it must surely be a necessary commodity.

I have remained true to my deepest convictions. I mean the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy—for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?