He began to read at haphazard. He entered upon each system with a little thrill of excitement, expecting to find in each some guide by which he could… - William Somerset Maugham

You have a hierarchy of values; pleasure is at the bottom of the ladder, and you speak with a little thrill of self-satisfaction, of duty, charity, and truthfulness. You think pleasure is only of the senses; the wretched slaves who manufactured your morality despised a satisfaction which they had small means of enjoying. You would not be so frightened if I had spoken of happiness instead of pleasure: it sounds less shocking, and your mind wonders from the sty of Epicurus to his garden. But I will speak of pleasure, for I see that men aim at that, and I do not know that they aim at happiness. It is pleasure that lurks in the practice of every one of your virtues. Man performs actions because they are good for him, and when they are good for other people as well they are thought virtuous: if he finds pleasure in giving alms he is charitable; if he finds pleasure in helping others he is benevolent; if he finds pleasure in working for society he is public-spirited; but it is for your private pleasure that you give twopence to a beggar as much as it is for my private pleasure that I drink another whiskey and soda. I, less of a humbug than you, neither applaud myself for my pleasure nor demand your admiration.

Are you sure you can prevent yourself from falling in love one of these days? Such things do happen, you know, even to the most prudent men.'

Simon gave him a strange, one might even have thought a hostile, look.

I should tear it out of my heart as I'd wrench out of my mouth a rotten tooth.

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.