Life may be defined to be the power of self-augmentation or assimilation, not of self-nurture; for then a steam-engine over a coal-pit might be made to live. – Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers
I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me. – Anaïs Nin (1903–1977), journal, January 1927
For Gods sake (I never was more serious) dont make me ridiculous any more by terming me gentle-hearted in print… substitute drunken dog, ragged head, seld-shaven, odd-eyed, stuttering, or any other epithet which truly and properly belongs to the gentleman in question. – Charles Lamb