The most original thing a writer can do is write like himself. It is also his most difficult task.

A Librettist is a mere drudge in the world of opera.

Whether you are really right or not doesn't matter; it's the belief that counts.

I am quite a wise old bird, but I am no desert hermit who can only prophesy when his guts are knotted with hunger. I am deep in the old man’s puzzle, trying to link the wisdom of the body with the wisdom of the spirit until the two are one.

You're all mad for words. Words are just farts from a lot of fools who have swallowed too many books. Give me things!

"Civilization rests on two things," said Hitzig; "the discovery that fermentation produces alcohol, and voluntary ability to inhibit defecation. And I put it to you, where would this splendidly civilized occasion be without both?"

Oh hearts! Nobody gets through life without a broken heart. The important thing is to break the heart so that when it mends it will be stronger than before.