I [Death] was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

The moral I draw is that the writer should seek his reward in the pleasure of his work and in release from the burden of thought; and, indifferent to aught else, care nothing for praise or censure, failure or success.

Beauty is also a Gift of God, one of the most rare and precious, and we should be thankful if we are happy enough to possess it and thankful, if we are not, that others possess it for our pleasure.

To write simply is as difficult as to be good.

Unconsciously, perhaps, we treasure the power we have over people by their regard for our opinion of them, and we hate those upon whom we have no such influence.

Its a toss-up when you decide to leave the beaten track. Many are called, few are chosen.

A good style should show no signs of effort. What is written should seem a happy accident.