"When I was starting out, I did not do short fiction well, because I kept wanting to write books"

"Weak minds sink under prosperity as well as adversity; but strong and deep ones have two high tides"

"Never trust a man who speaks well of everybody"

"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested"

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body"

"No two persons ever read the same book"

"The League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out"

"If you want to eat well in England, eat three breakfasts"

"When one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language"

"My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake"

"One has children in the expectation of dying before them. In fact, you want to make damn sure you die before them, just as you plant a tree or build a house knowing, hoping that it will outlive you. That's how the human species has done as well as it has"