Great Throughts Treasury

"A person is never happy except at the price of some ignorance."

"Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment."

"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you."

"A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for a life of action, not reaction.”"

"Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work."

"A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it's better than no inspiration at all."

"About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won't like you at all."

"A peacefulness follows any decision, even the wrong one."

"Any woman whose I.Q. hovers above her body temperature must be a feminist."

"Anyone of my generation who trusts government probably has an I.Q. that would make a good golf score."

"As a woman, I find it very embarrassing to be in a meeting and realize I'm the only one in the room with balls."

"As for loving woman, I have never understood why some people had a fit. I still don't. It seems fine to me. If an individual is productive responsible, and energetic, why should her choice in a partner make such a fuss? The government is only too happy to take my tax money and yet they uphold legislation that keeps me a second class citizen. Surely, there should be a tax break for those of us who are robbed of full and equal participation and protection in the life of our nation."

"Art is moral passion married to entertainment. Moral passion without entertainment is propaganda, and entertainment without moral passion is television."

"Computer dating is fine, if you"

"Creative people do not belong in the university because the process is antithetical to the analytical process so necessary for proper scholarship."

"Divorce is the one human tragedy that reduces everything to cash."

"Do not judge. Never presume to judge another human being anyway. That's up to heaven."

"Education is a wonderful thing. If you couldn't sign your name you'd have to pay cash."

"Don't ask to live in tranquil times. Literature doesn't grow there."

"Every action is either strong or weak, and when every action is strong we are successful."

"Don't trade the very stuff of your life, time, for nothing more than dollars. That's a rotten bargain."

"Every day you're alive and someone loves you is a miracle."

"Gambling operates under the premise that greed can be satisfied by luck."

"Happiness is pretty simple: someone to love, something to do, something to look forward to."

"Humor comes from self-confidence. There's an aggressive element to wit."

"He tried to drown his troubles but they knew how to swim."

"For you to be successful, sacrifices must be made. It's better that they are made by others but failing that, you'll have to make them yourself."

"I am a comic writer, which means I get to slay the dragons, and shoot the bull."

"I believe in a lively disrespect for most forms of authority."

"I believe in art that conceals art."

"I became a lesbian because of women, because women are beautiful, strong, and compassionate."

"I believe that we often disguise pain through ritual and it may be the only solace we have."

"I became a lesbian out of devout Christian charity. All those women out there are praying for a man and I gave them my share."

"I believe the true function of age is memory. I'm recording as fast as I can."

"I believe you are your work. Don't trade the stuff of your life, time, for nothing more than dollars. That's a rotten bargain."

"I can only say I wish I had slept with everyone I am accused of."

"I hate the telephone. I think the lowest circle of hell is reserved for Alexander Graham Bell."

"I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it."

"I distrust manifest knowledge."

"I mean, what do people talk about when they're married? Their kids, I guess. Maybe that's all they have in common."

"I still miss those I loved who are no longer with me but I find I am grateful for having loved them. The gratitude has finally conquered the loss."

"I know that after all is said and done, more is said than done."

"I had never thought I had much in common with anybody. I had no mother, no father, no roots, no biological similarities called sisters and brothers. And for a future I didn't want a split-level home with a station wagon, pastel refrigerator, and a houseful of blonde children evenly spaced through the years. I didn't want to walk into the pages of McCall's magazine and become the model housewife. I didn't even want a husband or any man for that matter. I wanted to go my own way. That's all I think I ever wanted, to go my own way and maybe find some love here and there. Love, but not the now and forever kind with chains around your vagina and a short circuit in your brain. I'd rather be alone."

"I think the reason I choose the comic approach so often is because it's harder, therefore affording me the opportunity to show off. Also, a comic vision is my natural world view, but I've grown up in spite of myself and I can pass the comic twist if it detracts from what the characters need. Yes, the life of a saint is hard."

"I have changed my definition of tragedy. I now think tragedy is not foul deeds done to a person (usually noble in some manner) but rather that tragedy is irresolvable conflict. Both sides/ideas are right."

"I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself."

"If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done."

"If the world were a logical place, men would ride side saddle."

"I used to think romantic love was a neurosis shared by two, a supreme foolishness. I no longer think that. There's nothing foolish in loving anyone. Thinking you'll be loved in return is what's foolish."

"If you don't like my book, write your own. If you don't think you can write a novel, that ought to tell you something. If you think you can, do. No excuses. If you still don't like my novels, find a book you do like. Life is too short to be miserable. If you like my novels, I commend your good taste."