Today the discredit of words is very great. Most of the time the media transmit lies. In the face of read more

Today the discredit of words is very great. Most of the time the media transmit lies. In the face of an intolerable world, words appear to change very little. State power has become congenitally deaf, which is why --but the editorialists forget it --terrorists are reduced to bombs and hijacking.

I was allowed to ring the bell for five minutes until everyone was in assembly. It was the beginning of read more

I was allowed to ring the bell for five minutes until everyone was in assembly. It was the beginning of power.

A good writer is not necessarily a good book critic. No more so than a good drunk is automatically a read more

A good writer is not necessarily a good book critic. No more so than a good drunk is automatically a good bartender.

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them all.

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them all.

To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful, ready always to apprehend in the flow of language read more

To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful, ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of poetry.

The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.

The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.

I shall never be ashamed of citing a bad author if the line is good.

I shall never be ashamed of citing a bad author if the line is good.

The American people would not want to know of any misquotes that Dan Quayle may or may not make.

The American people would not want to know of any misquotes that Dan Quayle may or may not make.

I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation. •George Bernard Shaw It is better to read more

I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation. •George Bernard Shaw It is better to be quotable than to be honest. •Tom Stoppard Now we sit through Shakespeare in order to recognize the quotations. •Orson Welles Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.