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

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

“The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write about it. ”

“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.”

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

“I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?”

“Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember and remember more than I have seen.”