Conversation would be vastly improved by the constant use of four simple words: I do not know.

An artist must be a reactionary. He has to stand out against the tenor of the age and not go flopping along.

—André Maurois

Above all things, never be afraid. The enemy who forces you to retreat is himself afraid of you at that very moment.

—André Maurois

In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others.

—André Maurois

Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy man has no time to form.

—André Maurois

We owe to the Middle Ages the two worst inventions of humanity—romantic love and gunpowder.

—André Maurois

Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood.

—Unknown

It's always difficult to make conversation with a drunk, and there's no denying it, the sober are at a disadvantage with him.

—William Shakespeare

He had occasional flashes of silence, that made his conversation perfectly delightful.

—Tom Blair