I am thinking,’ he remarked quietly, ’whether I shall add to the disorder in this room, by scattering your brains about the fireplace.

Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service.

The evening advanced. The shadows lengthened. The waters of the lake grew pitchy black. The gliding of the ghostly swans became rare and more rare.

My hour for tea is half-past five, and my buttered toast waits for nobody.

The books - the generous friends who met me without suspicion - the merciful masters who never used me ill!

Let the music speak to us of tonight, in a happier language than our own.

We had our breakfasts--whatever happens in a house, robbery or murder, it doesn't matter, you must have your breakfast.

Any woman who is sure of her own wits, is a match, at any time, for a man who is not sure of his own temper.

I have always held the old-fashioned opinion that the primary object of work of fiction should be to tell a story.

Your tears come easy, when you're young, and beginning the world. Your tears come easy, when you're old, and leaving it. I burst out crying.

Pedants, who have the least knowledge to be proud of, are impelled most by vanity.

It's a sad and beautiful world.

Into every life may come tragedy and triumph. Our goal is to meet both equally with serenity and radiant acquiescence. Yet even from the storm clouds of tragedy, rainbows can appear.

Laziness works. And the simple way to incorporate its health benefits into your life is simply to take a nap.

If God could make angels, why did he bother with men?

I had very little involvement with 'TinTin'. Very little involvement. So I can't really elaborate on that either.

The fairest rules are those to which everyone would agree if they did not know how much power they would have.

About a month before he died, my grandfather, we covered his back full of lard - after that he went downhill very quickly.

The essence of generosity is letting go. Pain is always a sign that we are holding on to something - usually ourselves.

Shane - who knows about Shane? Planet Shane is a lovely place a long way from here.

Your body can't switch off tired. People fall asleep behind the wheel all the time.