I hate vulgar realism in literature. The man who would call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one.

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.

If people did not love one another, I really don't see what use there would be in having any spring.

I was so blissfully lost in her that I didn't have to fight time.

I think going from laughing to crying to laughing to crying - making those quick turns adds years to your life.

There are no bad books any more than there are ugly women.

Golf is a lot of walking, broken up by disappointment and bad arithmetic.

Yet simple souls, their faith it knows no stint: Things least to be believed are most preferred. All counterfeits, as from truth's sacred mint, Are readily believed if once put down in print

Remembering is the opposite of being here now; it's being there now.

Everybody gets better looking on TV as shows go on.Even the nerds on "Big Bang Theory" are getting better looking. Their clothes are getting nicer. They're better groomed. It works for them.

We endeavor to stuff the universe into the gullet of an aphorism.