Life, it turns out, is infinitely more clever and adaptable than anyone had ever supposed.

What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence, the question is what you can make people believe that you have done.

My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created it, for I am the only one in the world.

Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.

A dog reflects the family life. Whoever saw a frisky dog in a gloomy family, or a sad dog in a happy one? Snarling people have snarling dogs, dangerous people have dangerous ones.

Your life is not your own. Keep your hands off it.