I mean, if we're concerned genuinely with writing, I think we probably get on with our work. I think this is very true of English writers, but perhaps not so true of French writers, who seem to read each other passionately, extensively, and endlessly, and who then talk about it to each other - which is splendid.

We're not savages. We're English.

The candle-buds opened their wide white flowers....Their scent spilled out into the air and took possession of the island.

In India the odd thing is that English is this almost artificial language floating on the surface of a place with about fifty other languages. The same is true of Nigeria but even more so.

But forgiveness must not only be given but received also.

I am astonished at the ease with which uninformed persons come to a settled, a passionate opinion when they have no grounds for judgment.

He who rides the sea of the Nile must have sails woven of patience.