Edith Wharton

“Ah, good conversation – there's nothing like it, is there? The air of ideas is the only air worth breathing.”

“Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against.”

“If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time.”

“Set your watch by the nearest flower.”

“Life is the only real counsellor; wisdom unfiltered through personal experience does not become a part of the moral tissue.”

“The desire for symmetry, for balance, for rhythm in form as well as in sound, is one of the most inveterate of human instincts.”

“I don't know if I should care for a man who made life easy; I should want someone who made it interesting.”

“One of the great things about travel is you find out how many good, kind people there are.”

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

“The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it.”

“In spite of the cost of living, it's still popular.”

“True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.”

“Silence may be as variously shaded as speech.”

“After all, one knows one's own faults, but not one's own virtues.”