“Idleness breeds our better virtues.”

“the two girls emanated an incorrigible idle inertia.”

“You don’t love because: you love despite; not for the virtues, but despite the faults.”

“It's always the idle habits you acquire which you will regret. Father said that. That Christ was not crucified: he was worn away by a minute clicking of little wheels. That had no sister.”

“Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”

“All of us have failed to match our dream of perfection. I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible. If I could write all my work again, I'm convinced I could do it better. This is the healthiest condition for an artist. That's why he keeps working, trying again: he believes each time that this time he will do it, bring it off. Of course he won't.”

“any live man is better than any dead man but no live or dead man is very much better than any other live or dead man”