Mark Twain — "I am not an optimist. I am a realist. I believe in the triumph of good over evil…"

"I am a democrat only on principle, not by instinct, nobody is that. Doubtless some people say they are, but this world is grievously given to lying."

"The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell togethe…"

"I have been told that Wagner's music is better than it sounds."

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."

"I was born with a reading habit, and it's a good thing, because it's the only habit I've ever had that hasn't cost me money."