“Do not read history. Read biography for it is life without theory.”

“Read no history--nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.”

“When I want to read a novel, I write one.”

“What we learn from history is that we do not learn from history”

“Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.”

“Life is too short to be little.”

“It has been my lot to have found myself in many distant lands. I have never been in one without finding a Scotchman, and I never found a Scotchman who was not head of the poll.”