A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but a little want of knowledge is also a dangerous thing.

Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.

Human life is as evanescent as the morning dew or a flash of lightning.

If I die prematurely at any rate I shall be saved from being bored to death by my own success.

Life is like music; it must be composed by ear, feeling, and instinct, not by rule.

Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud.

Don't learn to do, but learn in doing.

Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself.

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.

People care more about being thought to have taste than about being thought either good, clever or amiable.

Let us be grateful to the mirror for revealing to us our appearance only.

sad things are beautiful only from a distancetherefore you just want to get away from themfrom a distance of one hundred and thirty years ....i'm going to distance myself until the world is beautiful

I think humor is a very serious thing. I use it as a way of weakening the reader's defenses so that I can more easily take him to something more.

You cannot adopt politics as a profession and remain honest.

Don't take no as a full stop, treat it like a comma.

The question I should have asked is not what is the rule, but what is the principle.

In the attempt to make scientific discoveries, every problem is an opportunity — and the more difficult the problem, the greater will be the importance of its solution.

The most important business of one generation is the raising of the next generation. Nothing else you do in life will be as deeply satisfying.

Pay close attention to any flame of enthusiasm.

It takes constant vigilance not to slip into negativity or simple apathy. It takes courage to believe over any given period of time that we are getting better and not sliding into decline.

In my stories for children, I sometimes show a hard, harsh, dangerous world. I'm going to show you the way it is, but I'm going to also tell you that there's every reason to hope.