To marry a man out of pity is folly; and, if you think you are going to influence the kind of fellow who has never had a chance, poor devil, you are profoundly mistaken. One can only influence the strong characters in life, not the weak; and it is the height of vanity to suppose that you can make an honest man of anyone.

The greatest of all sins is stupidity.

Oscar Wilde

It came to Mary now that her mother had been right, after all; Mary had been born for this. In sixteen years she'd shot along the shortest route she could find between life and death, as the crow flew.

Emma Donoghue

Of all the anti-social vested interests the worst is the vested interest in ill-health.

George Bernard Shaw

Reverence is the highest quality of man's nature; and that individual, or nation, which has it slightly developed, is so far unfortunate. It is a strong spiritual instinct, and seeks to form channels for itself where none exists; thus Americans, in the dearth of other objects to worship, fall to worshiping themselves.

Lydia Maria Child

The best way to hold a man is in your arms.

Mae West

I wanted to have the opportunity to travel to Vietnam and Sydney, and have the chance to work there.

Brendan Fraser

There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between.

Sir Thomas Beecham

I wake up in the morning, I do a little stretching exercises, pick up the horn and play.

Herb Alpert

For me growing up, Christmas time was always the most fantastic, exciting time of year, and you'd stay up until three in the morning. You'd hear the parents wrapping in the other room but you knew that also, maybe, they were in collusion with Santa Claus.

Chris Pine

The life which is unexamined is not worth living.

Plato

The bashful virgin's sidelong looks of love, The matron's glance that would those looks reprove.

Oliver Goldsmith

People who don't see their nature and imagine they can practice thoughtlessness all the time are lairs and fools.

Bodhidharma