One of the special beauties of America is that it is the only country in the world where you are not advised to learn the language before entering. Before I ever set out for the United States, I asked a friend if I should study American. His answer was unequivocal. "On no account," he said. "The more English you sound, the more likely you are to be believed."

The world now seems a stunningly ignoble place. It has not really grown all that much worse but appears to have done so because we know so much more about it than we did.

I don't think I have a tragic demeanor.

The key is never, never work. Nothing is more aging than work. It's not only the strain of getting up in the morning for work, but it's the resentment that settles on your face

Whenever we confront an unbridled desire we are surely in the presence of a tragedy-in-the-making.

Happiness is the only thing I understand.

To live in the past is to miss today's opportunities and tomorrow's blessings.