"I consider being ill as one of the great pleasures of life, provided one is not too ill."

"The British nation is unique in this respect. They are the only people who like to be told how bad things are, who like to be told the worst."

"Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it."

"As I was walking among the fires of Hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels look like torment and insanity. I collected some of their Proverbs."

"When the present is full of gloom, the past becomes haven of refuge that provides relief and inspiration."

"A new and valid idea is worth more than a regiment and fewer men can furnish the former than command the latter."

"I have a hundred times wished that one could resign life as an officer resigns a commission."

"I'm a fan of laundry: the smell of fabric softener, the warm clothes in your hands. It's so good."

"In a quarrel, the higher voiced person will win."

"Men are the only animals that devote themselves, day in and day out, to making one another unhappy. It is an art like any other. Its virtuosi are called altruists."