Laziness acknowledges the relation of the present to the past but ignores its relation to the future; impatience acknowledge its relation to the future but ignores its relation to the past; neither the lazy nor the impatient man, that is, accepts the present instant in its full reality and so cannot love his neighbour completely.

To save your world you asked this man to die; would this man, could he see you now, ask why?

In relation to a writer, most readers believe in the Double Standard: they may be unfaithful to him as often as they like, but he must never, never be unfaithful to them.

Between friends differences in taste or opinion are irritating in direct proportion to their triviality.

Art is born of humiliation.

A craftsman knows in advance what the finished result will be, while the artist knows only what it will be when he has finished it.

There are not many English novels which deserve to be called great: Parade's End is one of them.