Most of our pocket wisdom is conceived for the use of mediocre people, to discourage them from ambitious attempts, and generally console them in their mediocrity.

Do not write merely to be understood. Write so you cannot possibly be misunderstood.

Life is not a matter of holding good cards

Wine is bottled poetry.

Dogs live with man as courtiers 'round a monarch, steeped in the flattery of his notice ... to push their favor in this world of pickings and caresses is, perhaps, the business of their lives.

To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity.

To have suffered ... sets a keen edge on what remains of the agreeable. This is a great truth and has to be learned in the fire.