Quotations (such as have point and lack triteness) from the great old authors are an act of reverence on the read more

Quotations (such as have point and lack triteness) from the great old authors are an act of reverence on the part of the quoter, and a blessing to a public grown superficial and external.

No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.

No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.

I quote others only in order the better to express myself.

I quote others only in order the better to express myself.

I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.

I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.

In America only the successful writer is important, in France all writers are important, in England no writer is important, read more

In America only the successful writer is important, in France all writers are important, in England no writer is important, and in Australia you have to explain what a writer is.

Quotation... A writer expresses himself in words that have been used before because they give his meaning better than he read more

Quotation... A writer expresses himself in words that have been used before because they give his meaning better than he can give it himself, or because they are beautiful or witty, or because he expects them to touch a cord of association in his reader, or because he wishes to show that he is learned and well read. Quotations due to the last motive are invariably ill-advised; the discerning reader detects it and is contemptuous; the undiscerning is perhaps impressed, but even then is at the same time repelled, pretentious quotations being the surest road to tedium.

There are times when I think that the ideal library is composed solely of reference books. They are like understanding read more

There are times when I think that the ideal library is composed solely of reference books. They are like understanding friends-always ready to change the subject when you have had enough of this or that.

Criticism is an indirect form of self-boasting.

Criticism is an indirect form of self-boasting.

I would sooner read a timetable or a catalog than nothing at all.

I would sooner read a timetable or a catalog than nothing at all.