"Absence is the dark-room in which lovers..." - Quote by H L Mencken

“Nothing can come out of an artist that is not in the man.”

“A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin or when he sees silver he looks for the cloud it lines. A wise happy person does the exact opposite.”

“All I ask is equal freedom. When it is denied, as it always is, I take it anyhow.”

“You love the accidental. A smile from a pretty girl in an interesting situation, a stolen glance, that is what you are hunting for, that is a motif for your aimless fantasy. You who always pride yourself on being an observateur must, in return, put up with becoming an object of observation. Ah, you are a strange fellow, one moment a child, the next an old man; one moment you are thinking most earnestly about the most important scholarly problems, how you will devote your life to them, and the next you are a lovesick fool. But you are a long way from marriage.”

“Nature forever puts a premium on reality. What is done for effect is seen to be done for effect; what is done for love is felt to be done for love. A man inspires affection and honor because he was not lying in wait for these.”

“We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world. We will be able to make men better. Love is the only way.”

“An absent friend gives us friendly company when we are well assured of his happiness.”

“Absence abates a moderate passion and intensifies a great one - as the wind blows out a candle but fans fire into flame.”

“As soon as a child has left the room his strewn toys become affecting.”