“Always have a book to read, instead of indulging in vain conversation. Strive to learn English....Remember this, that you cannot commit some loved sin in private, and perform the work of the ministry in public, with facility and acceptance.”

“Writing in English is the most ingenious torture ever devised for sins committed in previous lives. The English reading public explains the reason why.”

“You have to remember that it is impossible to commit a crime while reading a book.”

“The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time. When some political or ecclesiastical pamphlet, or novel, or poem is making a great commotion, you should remember that he who writes for fools always finds a large public. A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short.”

“...that the basic transaction of life itself was a sad, endless amalgam of public endurance and private indulgence.”

“Books are always obviously having conversations with other books, and some times they're amiable and sometimes not.”