"A divine falsehood is more powerful than any human truth."

“Identify with excellence, put your name on your work, and both your work and name will stand the test of time.”

“Nothing is more curious than the almost savage hostility that Humour excites in those who lack it.”

Source : George Saintsbury (1950). “A Last Vintage: Essays and Papers”

“If any fall by the hand of violence, others will continue the blessed work.”

“Kids take up all available time - it's the basic law of parenthood. No matter how much time you give them, whether you work from eight to eight or are around the house all the time, you'll still feel you haven't been there enough for them.”

“The child who is permitted to torment, or destroy, the minutest object in creation, who will wantonly tread upon a worm, or unhumanly pass a pin through the body of a fly, will in all probabiilty, as he increases in years, feel no more compunction at tormenting a fellow-creature, than he did in witnessing the wreathing agonies of a fly.”

“In ordinary life, the action of a third party does not free the contractor from an obligation; but the advantage of making a contract with heaven is that intentions are valid currency.”

Source : Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Machado de Assis, John A. Gledson (1998). “Dom Casmurro”, p.146, Oxford University Press

“Writing is communication, not self-expression. Nobody in this world wants to read your diary except your mother.”

“When I return to the world, I will be a man. I will walk among you. I will lick my lips with my small, dexterous tongue. I will shake hands with other men, grasping firmly with my opposable thumbs. And I will teach all people that I know. And when I see a man or a woman or a child in trouble, I will extend my hand, both metaphorically and physically. I will offer my hand. To him. To her. To you. To the world. I will be a good citizen, a good partner in the endeaver of life that we all share.”