The best people to work for are me, myself and I.
There is no Mystery so great as Misery.
To live in this world is a rare thing; most people just exist.
A true artist takes no notice whatever of the public. The public to him are non-existent.
When I was young, I was no one. Now, I’m worldwilde.
Whenever I’m in doubt, I ask myself, ‘What would Jesus do?’ And then I realize, Jesus got crucified, so maybe his decision-making isn’t all that great.
A publisher is simply a useful middle-man.
Oh, no doubt the cod is a splendid swimmer – admirable for swimming purposes but not for eating.
Life is too short to be in a hurry.
The reason we are so pleased to find other people’s secrets is that it distracts public attention from our own.
Children start out loving their parents, but as they grow older and discover their parents are human, they become judgmental. And sometimes, when they mature, they forgive their parents, especially when they discover they are also human.
Art should never be popular.
If you want to be witty, say what you think at all times.
Don’t run down dyed hair and painted faces. There is an extraordinary charm in them, sometimes.
If you cannot prove a man wrong, don’t panic. You can always call him names.
That very concentration of vision and intensity of purpose which is the characteristic of the artistic temperament is in itself a mode of limitation. To those who are preoccupied with the beauty of form nothing else seems of much importance.
Truth in art is the unity of a thing with itself: the outward rendered expressive of the inward: the soul made incarnate: the body instinct with spirit. For this reason there is no truth comparable to sorrow.
Every single work of art is the fulfillment of a prophecy; for every work of art is the conversion of an idea into an image.
A man whose desire is to be something separate from himself, to be a member of Parliament, or a successful grocer, or a prominent solicitor, or a judge, or something equally tedious, invariably succeeds in being what he wants to be. That is his punishment. Those who want a mask have to wear it.
I have put my talent into writing, my genius I have saved for living.