“I am not given to exaggeration, and when I say a thing I mean it.”

“Are you an American? No, I am not an American. I am the American.”

“When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.”

“When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them--then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are far apart.”

“I am only human, although I regret it.”

“I am a great and sublime fool. But then I am God's fool, and all His works must be contemplated with respect.”

“It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself:'All right, then, I'll go to hell'- and tore it up.”