Adorable children are considered to be the general property of the human race. Rude children belong to their mothers.

Most people who work at home find they do not have the benefit of receptionists who serve as personal guards

If it's against state law, it's generally considered a breach of Etiquette.

It's far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.

The family dinner table is the cornerstone of civilization and those who 'graze' from refrigerators or in front of the television sets are doomed to remain in a state of savagery.

Ideological differences are no excuse for rudeness.

We are born charming fresh and spontaneous and must be civilized before we are fit to participate in society.

If you can't be kind, at least be vague.

When virtues are pointed out first, flaws seem less insurmountable.

Society cannot exist without etiquette ... It never has, and until our own century, everybody knew that.

Email is very informal, a memo. But I find that not signing off or not having a salutation bothers me.

[O]ne can scarcely be frightened off writing what one wants to write for fear an obscure reviewer should patronise one on that account.

Struggle forms character

I have never cared especially for outdoor sports and have no desire to excel at tennis, swimming, or golf. I'll leave those things to the men.

We usually think that a strong economy leads to an increase in life satisfaction among the population. We found that's not the case in Scotland.

I'm no longer dependent on the movie business to make a living. So if I want to make movies as other old guys would play golf, I can.

I didn't want to just write a series - I wanted to write an epic, on story that spans three books, where decisions made in the first impact the last.

What you resist persists. And only what you look at, and own, can disappear. You make it disappear by simply changing your mind about it.

When life kicks me, I kick it back.

Hate misleads, fear distorts and love blinds.

That pitch wasn't down and in, that pitch was down and up.