I am not absentminded. It is the presence of mind that makes me unaware of everything else.

An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.

There is nothing the matter with Americans except their ideals. The real American is all right; it is the ideal American who is all wrong.

The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world. In this long vigil he often has to vary his methods of stimulation; but in this long vigil he is also himself striving against a continual tendency to sleep.

Large organization is loose organization. Nay it would be almost as true to say that organization is always disorganization.

Boys like romantic tales; but babies like realistic tales-because they find them romantic.

The true savage is a slave, and is always talking about what he must do; the true civilised man is a free man, and is always talking about what he may do.

A great classic means a man whom one can praise without having read.

Grey is a colour that always seems on the eve of changing to some other colour.

The paradox of courage is that a man must be a little careless of his life even in order to keep it.