“Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.”

I am often mad, but I would hate to be nothing but mad: and I think I would lose what little value I may have as a writer if I were to refuse, as a matter of principle, to accept the warming rays of the sun, and to report them, whenever, and if ever, they

It is quite possible that an animal has spoken to me and that I didn’t catch the remark because I wasn’t paying attention.

All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world.

I have one share in corporate Earth, and I am nervous about the management.

Democracy is itself, a religious faith. For some it comes close to being the only formal religion they have.

Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.

Reading is the work of the alert mind, is demanding, and under ideal conditions produces finally a sort of ecstasy.

Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice. As a result, she now has a pig. A small one to be sure, but nevertheless a pig. It just shows what can happen if a person gets out of bed promptly.

Understanding humor is like dissecting a live frog. It can be done, but the frog tends to die in the process.

Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.

In a free country it is the duty of writers to pay no attention to duty.

A candidate could easily commit political suicide if he were to come up with an unconventional thought during a presidential tour.

Life’s meaning has always eluded me and I guess always will. But I love it just the same.

In every queen there’s a touch of floozy.

Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.

Old age is a special problem for me because I’ve never been able to shed the mental image I have of myself – a lad of about 19.

One of our gravest mistakes is persuading ourselves that nobody has passed this way before.

It’s always been my formula to get the next picture set up before anyone’s seen the last one.

I’d have wasted a lot of time and trouble before I learned that the best way to take all people, black or white, is to take them for what they think they are, then leave them alone.

I failed, I think, seven [or] eight times before I finally got my first [championship]. It was just, you know, just about me growing up.

Mike Huckabee says the answer to our problems is to cure all diseases. I guess no one’s thought of that before.

I think you have to work very hard and dedicate yourself and have the respect of your teammates before you’re about to go out and just try to take a game over by yourself.

We will stop the terrorist attacks before they occur because we will not be prisoners to political correctness. Rather, we will speak the truth. Border security is national security and we will not be admitting jihadists as refugees.

Taste goodness before you recommend it.