Another of Cicero's maxims was that if you must do something unpopular, you might as well do it wholeheartedly, for in politics there is no credit to be won by timidity.

Don't try to write too much in a single session. One thousand words a day is quite enough. Stop after about four or five hours.

Egyptologists, skilled in piecing together the papyri of lost civilisations, suddenly discovered that the same talent could be applied to working out the pattern of German radio traffic.

You can always spot a fool, for he is a man who will tell you he knows who is going to win an election.

If long hitting is the thing that causes the spectators to whistle through their teeth in wonderment, why not play tournaments up and down an expansive stadium?

It's when you've stopped writing and are doing other things, especially when you're asleep, that the real work is done.

But only a fool sails into combat with nature