“I'm a bad man. I need to understand the past. It illuminates the present.”

“I'm an incurable romantic. The essence of romance is an unshakable conviction that next time will be different.”

“One's own yesterday is a ghost that will not be laid down.”

“There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of self-proclaimed saints. Victorious historians rule where good or evil lies.”

“I am haunted by the clear knowledge that, in the end, evil always triumphs.”

“She came and she went, in sorrow for the death of dreams, and she came no more.”

“When describing nature, a writer should seize upon small details, arranging them so that the reader will see an image in his mind after he closes his eyes. For instance: you will capture the truth ...”

“Dance above the surface of the world. Let your thoughts lift you into creativity that is not hampered by opinion.”

“My life will be the best illustration of all my work.”

“Is there magic in this world? Certainly! But it is not the kind of magic written about in fantasy stories. It is the kind of magic that comes from ideas and the hard work it often takes to make the...”

“We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.”

“A culture of unaccountability is a culture without incentive, and a culture without incentive is the death of critical and creative thinking.”

“...but since He gave it them for their benefit and the greatest conveniences of life they were capable to draw form it, it cannot be supposed He meant it should always remain common and uncultivate...”

“It is not who will eat beans, but who will pick it that is scarce.”

“God always estimates how diligent a person is to his work.”