If a man wants to be of the greatest possible value to his fellow-creature s let him begin the long, solitary task of perfecting himself.

One learns one’s mystery at the price of one’s innocence.

Conversation in its true meaning isn't all wagging the tongue; sometimes it is a deeply shared silence.

And I say to you that if you bring curiosity to your work it will cease to be merely a job and become a door through which you enter the best that life has to give you.

The quality of what is said inevitably influences the way in which it is said, however inexperienced the writer.

The clerisy are those who seek, and find, delight and enlargement of life in books. The clerisy are those for whom reading is a personal art.

Literary critics, however, frequently suffer from a curious belief that every author longs to extend the boundaries of literary art, wants to explore new dimensions of the human spirit, and if he doesn't, he should be ashamed of himself.