We need new friends; some of us are cannibals who have eaten their old friends up; others must have ever-renewed audiences before whom to re-enact an ideal version of their lives.

It is the dread of something happening, something unknown and dreadful, that makes us do anything to keep the flicker of talk from dying out.

How many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares, were there a danger of their coming true!

Whiskey has killed more men than bullets, but most men would rather be full of whiskey than bullets. What I like in a good author is not what he says, but what he whispers.

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

To say what you think will certainly damage you in society, but a free tongue is worth more than a thousand invitations.

Most people sell their souls and live with a good conscience on the proceeds.

Only a generation of readers will span a generation of writers.

The newest books are those that never grow old.

Charming people live up to the very edge of their charm, and behave as outrageously as the world lets them.