Nicolas Bentley

“The only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little farther down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves.”

“Tread softly, for you tread on my jokes.”

“An autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last instalment missing.”

“I draw the line at letting sleeping dogs lie.”

“A woman's mind is cleaner than a man's: She changes it more often.”

“Humour is the first of the gifts to perish in a foreign tongue.”

“The only reason for being a professional writer is that you can't help it.”

“The average man's opinions are much less foolish than they would be if he thought for himself.”

“As a profession, acting is practiced by an army of children, who rest their heads on their mother's laps and cry 'What shall I do next?'”