Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very;... - Mark Twain

"Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which before their union were not perceived to have any relation."

"In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them."

"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure."

"What a wee little part of a person's life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself."

"A big leather-bound volume makes an ideal razorstrap. A thing book is useful to stick under a table with a broken caster to steady it. A large, flat atlas can be used to cover a window with a broken pane. And a thick, old-fashioned heavy book with a clasp is the finest thing in the world to throw at a noisy cat."