His principles were out of date, but there was a good deal to be said for his prejudices.

I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.

Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

Oh, brothers! I don't care for brothers. My elder brother won't die, and my younger brothers seem never to do anything else.

If a man treats life artistically, his brain is his heart.

What fire does not destroy, it hardens

All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.

Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.

Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.

The basis of optimism is sheer terror.

When God descends to us he, in a certain sense, abases himself and stammers with us, so He allows us to stammer with Him

I am no poet. I do not love words for the sake of words. I love words for what they can accomplish. Similarly, I am no arithmetician. Numbers that speak only of numbers are of little interest to me.

I've always been partial to the image of liquor as lubrication, a layer of protection from all the sharp thoughts in your head.

But our minds are bound to the yardstick of yesterday, today and tomorrow, and with that yardstick we try to inquire into the unknown, to measure that which is not measurable.

Our sight is the most perfect and most delightful of all our senses.

The Bible tells us to be perfect. This is likely a scary thought for many people. It used to scare me. I didn't think I could ever get there, no matter how hard I tried.

Nothing is as irritating as the fellow who chats pleasantly while he's overcharging you.

When you play a character that's someone real, when you're playing a true story, it's really great, 'cause you're not pretending to make up some silly thing.

Be a voice for the future and a voice for the planet.

My job as the writer is to fool you. Your job as the reader is to see if you can catch me at it.