Only those who get into scrapes with their eyes open can find the safe way out.

The test of enjoyment is the remembrance which it leaves behind.

There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.

When they come downstairs from their Ivory Towers, idealists are very apt to walk straight into the gutter.

Don't tell friends their social faults; they will cure the fault and never forgive you.

The denunciation of the young is a necessary part of the hygiene of older people, and greatly assists the circulation of the blood.

Eat with the rich, but go to the play with the poor, who are capable of joy.

People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.

Happiness is a wine of the rarest vintage, and seems insipid to a vulgar taste.

What I like in a good author is not what he says but what he whispers.

Style is a magic wand, and turns everything to gold that it touches.

Never read a book through merely because you have begun it.

Your twenties are the time to both accept and fight your way into the person you're destined to become.

Pop art is for everyone.

Man is something to be surpassed.

I'm going to try and model myself after Kurt Russell and Jodie Foster.

Flowers never emit so sweet and strong a fragrance as before a storm. When a storm approaches thee, be as fragrant as a sweet-smelling flower.

Was Judas Iscariot a figure of history? I do not think so. There is no mention of him in any source before the 8th decade.

When I finish a first draft, it's always just as much of a mess as it's always been. I still make the same mistakes every time.

For a moment Jack felt the strongest inclination to snatch up his little gilt chair and beat the white-faced man down with it.

Who's the other kid in the photo?' he asked. 'The sandy-haired guy.' Annabeth's expression tightened. Touchy subject. 'That's Luke,' she said. 'He's dead now.