Where so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong?
In the absences of a decent time machine, fiction remains the most sturdy vehicle for visiting other eras.
Read over your compositions, and wherever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out.
I'd learned my lesson.
In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be.
I'm glad I didn't have to fight in any war. I'm glad I didn't have to pick up a gun. I'm glad I didn't get killed or kill somebody. I hope my kids enjoy the same lack of manhood.
My friends are my estate.