reminding himself to remember forever that the pen’s a long arm from the grave.

taught me that the great secret of Dante’s masterpiece lay in the handling of the verse, which always moved forward even in the most intensely compressed of episodes.

I read my sentence - steadily . . .

"Poirot," I said. "I have been thinking."
"An admirable exercise my friend. Continue it."

Our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them; for those experiences have left an indelible impression, and we are ever and anon reminded of them.

Never forget that a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.

The Scroll Marked III I will persist until I succeed.

It is always during a passing state of mind that we make lasting resolutions.

Please, in all this muddle of life, continue to be a bright and constant star. Just a few things remain as beacons: poetry, and you, and solitude.

As long as I am breathing, your legacy will continue to live on.

That is how I look at it; to continue, to continue, that is what is necessary.

So long as I remain alive and well I shall continue to feel strongly about prose style, to love the surface of the earth, and to take a pleasure in solid objects and scraps of useless information.

Stories do not end.

I cherish two sentences and keep them close to my desk. The first is by Flaubert. I came upon it among Van Gough's letters. It says, simply, 'Talent is long patience, and originality an effort of will and of intense observation.