I thought it was only in revealed religion that a mistranslation improved the sense.

Beauty is an ecstasy; it is as simple as hunger. There is really nothing to be said about it. It is like the perfume of a rose: you can smell it and that is all.

It is pleasure that lurks in the practice of every one of your virtues. Man performs actions because they are good for him, and when they are good for other people as well they are thought virtuous: if he finds pleasure in helping others he is benevolent; if he finds pleasure in working for society he is public-spirited; but it is for your private pleasure that you give twopence to a beggar as much as it is for my private pleasure that I drink another whiskey and soda. I, less of a humbug than you, neither applaud myself for my pleasure nor demand your admiration.

All the words I use in my stories can be found in the dictionary-it's just a matter of arranging them into the right sentences.

The most valuable thing I have learned from life is to regret nothing.

Do you absolutely despise me, Walter?" "No." He hesitated and his voice was strange. "I despise myself.

It's always difficult to make conversation with a drunk, and there's no denying it, the sober are at a disadvantage with him.