The sight or sound of perfect things causes a certain suffering.

Unkindness almost always stands for the displeasure that one has in oneself.

I can easily do without people (there are days when I could easily do without myself), and ... in the country of books where I dwell, the dead can count entirely as much as the living.

It matters less to venerate things than to live with them on terms of good friendship.

Our present-day artists do not transform, they deform. That gives pleasure to nobody. It changes everything, therefore it changes nothing.

Abstract art: a construction site for high fashion, for advertising, for furniture.

German civility, which often seems stiff to us, shows an attentive and touching respect for the person that I often prefer to our offhandedness.

Lies were lethal, however honourable the intentions of the liar. They deprived people of the opportunity to know the basic facts of their own lives.

Makes sense, the earth is quick to consume the flesh of things that ain't natural.

A road to a friend's house is never long.

I live in an old house with no closets and no built-ins. I hate big cupboards.

Destroy or be destroyed-there is no middle way! Let us then be the destroyers!

Love is friendship on fire -- anonymous

Tradition: sit with husband in a room lit only by tree lights and remember that our blessings outnumber the lights. Happy Christmas to all.

To do good work one must eat well, be well housed, have one's fling from time to time, smoke one's pipe, and drink one's coffee in peace

Of course killing people is 'wrong', but I think history shows that sometimes it serves the greater good.

Trust me: Studios, investors, filmmakers, they will shift because they just follow the money trail.