Everyone has something they don't want anyone to see; that is one of the functions of a home, to provide a spot to keep such things.

I don't approve of open fires. You can't think, or talk or even make love in front of a fireplace. All you can do is stare at it.

What do I believe in? Belief means faith, and there's only one damned thing in the world I have any faith in. That's the idea of American democracy, because it seems to me so obvious that that's the only sensible way to run human affairs.

Labels are for the things men make, not for men. The most primitive man is too complex to be labeled.

Sometimes it's things that take the joy out of life, like a blowout when you're hitting sixty or a button coming off of a shirt when you're in a hurry, but usually it's people.

We are all vainer of our luck than of our merits.

I love to make a mistake. It is my only assurance that I cannot reasonably be expected to assume the responsibility of omniscience.