Look for a long time at what pleases you, and a longer time at what pains you.

I believe there are more urgent and honorable occupations than the incomparable waste of time we call suffering.

Writing only leads to more writing.

My true friends have always given me that supreme proof of devotion, a spontaneous aversion for the man I loved.

A happy childhood is poor preparation for human contacts.

If he's getting married, he's not longer interesting.

As for an authentic villain, the real thing, the absolute, the artist, one rarely meets him even once in a lifetime. The ordinary bad hat is always in part a decent fellow.