Being in a ship is being in a jail with the chance of being drowned.

Cucumber should be well sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.

Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.

Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.

When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.

Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.

A man who uses a great many words to express his meaning is like a bad marksman who, instead of aiming a single stone at an object, takes up a handful and throws at it in hopes he may hit.

There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain.

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.

He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts.

Power is a beautiful thing.

Try to avoid getting involved with somebody who's gonna need killing before it's over. It may seem to you that that narrows the field somewhat, but be diligent.

Poetry is not a matter of feelings, it is a matter of language. It is language which creates feelings.

I don't like to read novelizations of movies.

I'm not an inventor. I just want to make things better.

Fiction is the only way I know a human being can inhabit the mind of another human being.

My personal style can be everything from girly and flirty to edgy and chic.

You cannot travel back in time to fix your mistakes, but you can learn from them and forgive yourself for not knowing better.

The sinner sins against himself; the wrongdoer wrongs himself, becoming the worse by his own action.

Very often, you know, you stop walking because you say, 'Well, I'm tired of climbing this hill. I'm never going to get to the top.' And you're only two steps from the top.