Edith Wharton

"War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace."

"I should like to be a large, calm, placid person."

"Women can only be in positions of power because men created them to be."

"The world changes so that women who have no education cannot keep pace with it."

"Scorn is one of the few human things that cannot be imitated."

"Pleasure is never gone with desire."

"The privilege of growing old is an opportunity for wisdom."

"A man must be miserable before he is prosperous."

"Nothing is more enthralling than to become aware of a hidden passion."

"The woman who cares for fashion is lost."

"The task of the critic is to distinguish between apparent and intrinsic merit."

"All revolutions have failed because they tried to change human nature."

"Those who believe that happiness can be increased by material acquisitions are spiritually empty."

"The great thing about the past is that it's past."

"Success is only a matter of luck. Ask any failure."

"Life is always difficult, but it is bearable because of friendship."

"The end of all wisdom is charity."

"It's always only what you have that counts."

"A lot of people think that I'm a snob."

"The writer's aim is not to record what has been, but to show what might be."

"All violence is not written in books but in the heart."

"I am glad not to have been born a woman."

"The more facts we know, the greater our ignorance becomes."

"Character is what emerges from the struggle."

"I have never understood why the 'intellectual' is always depicted as an enemy of life."

"The truth is that we hardly know anything about our ancestors."

"Every woman wants to be treated like she's unique."

"Art requires courage and sacrifice."

"The measure of intelligence is the ability to change."

"Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life."