The Englishman likes to imagine himself at sea, the German in a forest. It is impossible to express the difference of their national feeling more con… - Elias Canetti

Whenever the truth threatens, he hides behind a thought.

At home in the nursery, I usually played alone. Actually, I seldom played, I spoke to the wallpaper. The many dark circles in the pattern of the wallpaper seemed like people to me. I made up stories in which they appeared, either I told them the stories or they played with me, I never got tired of the wallpaper people and I could talk to them for hours.

You keep taking note of whatever confirms your ideas — better to write down what refutes and weakens them!