Men have an extraordinarily erroneous opinion of their position in nature; and the error is ineradicable.

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

Loving-kindness is the better part of goodness. It lends grace to the sterner qualities of which this consists.

I would sooner read a time-table or a catalogue than nothing at all. They are much more entertaining than half the novels that are written.

You know, there are two good things in life, freedom of thought and freedom of action. In France you get freedom of action: you can do what you like and nobody bothers, but you must think like everybody else. In Germany you must do what everybody else does, but you may think as you choose. They're both very good things. I personally prefer freedom of thought. But in England you get neither: you're ground down by convention. You can't think as you like and you can't act as you like. That's because it's a democratic nation. I expect America's worse.

The crown of literature is poetry.

Make him laugh and he will think you a trivial fellow, but bore him in the right way and your reputation is assured.