“I come from a family where the only emotion respectable to show is irritation. In some this tendency produces hives, in others literature, in me both.”

“I come from a family of screamers. If they are trying to express any emotion or idea beyond pass the salt, it comes in shrieks.”

“I grew up in a large communal apartment where most of the rooms were occupied by my family and relations and only a few by outsiders. The house was pervaded by a strong traditional family spirit — a vital enthusiasm for work and respect for professional competence. Within the family we provided one another with mutual support, just as we shared a love of literature and science.”

“I don't know where it comes from. I think some of it comes from the unconscious. Sometimes it is more complete than other times.”

“There is no difference between landscapes and other subjects: in general in painting I try to express the emotions that the contemplation of the form produces in me.”

“A society where emotions come last and selfishness is considered blessed, or placed first before anything; cannot be expected to produce good fruits!”

“It all begins with the family, That's where all the vocations come from. Priests, sisters, brothers, deacons, we do not come flying down from heaven. We come from families.”

“He irritably suspected himself of a tendency to make enemies unnecessarily.”

“No human society is too primitive to have some kind of literature. The only thing is that primitive literature hasn't yet become distinguished from other aspects of life: it's still embedded in religion, magic and social ceremonies.”

“There was a story that some EMI execs had come down to see you and you'd said something like: "Here's what I've been working on," and then produced some cakes from your oven. True?
"No! I don't know where that came from. I thought that was quite funny actually. It presents me as this homely creature, which is all right, isn't it?"”