“Every man worships the dollar, and is down before his shrine from morning to night… Other men, the world over, worship regularly at the shrine with matins and vespers, nones and complines, and whatever other daily services may be known to the religious houses; but the New Yorker is always on his knees.”

But as we do not light up our houses with our brightest lamps for all comers, so neither did she emit from her eyes their brightest sparks till special occasions for such shining had arisen.

Words spoken cannot be recalled, and many a man and many a woman who has spoken a word at once regretted, are far too proud to express that regret.

Power is so pleasant that men quickly learn to be greedy in the enjoyment of it, and to flatter themselves that patriotism requires them to be imperious.

Of course, Lady Arabella could not suckle the young heir herself. Ladies Arabella never can.

There are words which a man cannot resist from a woman, even though he knows them to be false.

I cannot hold with those who wish to put down the insignificant chatter of the world.

There are worse things than a lie… I have found… that it may be well to choose one sin in order that another may be shunned.

Fortune favors the brave; and the world certainly gives the most credit to those who are able to give an unlimited credit to themselves.

Don’t let love interfere with your appetite. It never does with mine.

I have no ambition to surprise my reader. Castles with unknown passages are not compatible with my homely muse.

The habit of writing clearly soon comes to the writer who is a severe critic to himself.

It is a comfortable feeling to know that you stand on your own ground. Land is about the only thing that can’t fly away.

But mad people never die. That’s a well-known fact. They’ve nothing to trouble them, and they live for ever.

It has now become the doctrine of a large clan of politicians that political honesty is unnecessary, slow, subversive of a man’s interests, and incompatible with quick onward movement.

There is no royal road to learning; no short cut to the acquirement of any art.

I ain’t a bit ashamed of anything.

Right now I am full of greed and vanity, so I cannot live with you like before. But may be we can meet like this.

I don’t believe in asking people to spend $15 on something they’ve never heard before. That’s just unreasonable.

The Stone Age did not end for lack of stone, and the Oil Age will end long before the world runs out of oil.

What was said before is not important.

Always before I had felt like a person, an individual, hopeful that I could mold my life according to some desire of my own.

Sunday-evening tea before the fire! I have never missed one moment of beauty, not even taken it for granted.

I admire many women that have come before me, heavy influencers such as Oprah, such as Beyoncé, and I’m witnessing the fruit of their work and experiencing their legacy now and they’re not even close to the finish line.

Don’t get caught up on ‘I’m brown, black, white, red, blue, whatever.’ You gotta ask, what were you called before 1492?