We find things beautiful because we recognize them and contrariwise we find things beautiful because their novelty surprises us.

Now the answer ... is plain, but it is so unpalatable that most men will not face it. There is no reason for life and life has no meaning.

A good story is obviously a difficult thing to invent, but its difficulty is a poor reason for despising it.

I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of the chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art.

Men seek but one thing in life - their pleasure.

Often the best way to overcome desire is to satisfy it.

We do not write as we want, but as we can.