“The reason why the continental European is, to the Englishman or American, so surprisingly ignorant of the Bible, is that the authorized English version is a great work of literary art, and the continental versions are comparatively artless.”

“There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it.”

“The word morality, if we met it in the Bible, would surprise us as much as the word telephone or motor car.”

“I owe all my originality, such as it is, to my determination not to be a literary man. Instead of belonging to a literary club I belong to a municipal council. Instead of drinking and discussing authors and reviews, I sit on committees with capable practical greengrocers and bootmakers... Keep away from books and from men who get their ideas from books, and your own books will always be fresh.”

“My main reason for adopting literature as a profession was that, as the author is never seen by his clients, he need not dress respectably.”

“The English are not a very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity. ”

“You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.”