Man is extraordinarily clever in preventing himself from being happy; it would seem that the less able he is to endure misfortune the more apt he is to attach himself to it. Journals
To write weekly, to write daily, to write shortly, to write for busy people catching trains in the morning or for tired people coming home in the evening, is a heartbreaking task for men who know good writing from bad. They do it, but instinctively draw out of harm's way anything precious that might be damaged by contact with the public, or anything sharp that might irritate its skin. The Common Reader
We are all convention; convention carries us away, and we neglect the substance of things. . . . We dare not call our parts by their right names, but are not afraid to use them for every sort of debauchery. Essays
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt. The Art Of War
Quotes