Words have no word for words that are not true.

A writer is a maker, not a man of action: his private life is of no concern to anybody but himself, his family and his friends.

As readers, we remain in the nursery stage so long as we cannot distinguish between taste and judgment, so long, that is, as the only possible verdicts we can pass on a book are two: this I like; this I don't like. For an adult reader, the possible verdicts are five: I can see this is good and I like it; I can see this is good but I don't like it; I can see this is good and, though at present I don't like it, I believe that with perseverance I shall come to like it; I can see that this is trash but I like it; I can see that this is trash and I don't like it.

Even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot Where the dogs go on with their doggy life

It takes little talent to see what lies under one's nose, a good deal to know in what direction to point that organ.

The countenances of children, like those of animals, are masks, not faces, for they have not yet developed a significant profile of their own.

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