All wishes, whatever their apparent content, have the same and unvarying meaning: "I refuse to be what I am."

No person can be a great leader unless he takes genuine joy in the successes of those under him.

I'll love you till the ocean Is folded and hung up to dry And the seven stars go squawking Like geese about the sky.

The chances are that, in the course of his lifetime, the major poet will write more bad poems than the minor, simply because major poets write a lot.

People always get what they want. But there is a price for everything. Failures are either those who do not know what they want or are not prepared to pay the price asked them. The price varies from individual to individual. Some get things at bargain-sale prices, others only at famine prices. But it is no use grumbling. Whatever price you are asked, you must pay.

I think the first prerequisite to civilization is an ability to make polite conversation.

To hunt for symbols in a fairy tale is absolutely fatal.