“All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning. Great works are often born on a street corner or in a restaurant's revolving door.”

“I know that man is capable of great deeds. But if he isn't capable of great emotion, well, he leaves me cold.”

“Believe me there is no such thing as great suffering, great regret, great memory....everything is forgotten, even a great love. That's what's sad about life, and also what's wonderful about it. There is only a way of looking at things, a way that comes to you every once in a while. That's why it's good to have had love in your life after all, to have had an unhappy passion- it gives you an alibi for the vague despairs we all suffer from.”

“There are means that cannot be excused. And I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice. I don't want just any greatness for it, particularly a greatness born of blood and falsehood. I want to keep it alive by keeping justice alive.”

“Like great works, deep feelings always mean more than they are conscious of saying.”

“When you have an elevated spirit and a miserable heart, you write great things and do the poor.”

“At the age of 40, having ordered meat very rare in restaurants all his life, he realized he actually liked it medium and not at all rare.”