Vladimir Nabokov

"Patience is the foundation of all virtues."

"The greatest achievements come from the smallest ideas."

"Kindness is the universal language."

"Every moment is a new beginning."

"The pursuit of knowledge is the pursuit of truth."

"All great writers are born twice."

"Life without art is merely existence."

"The heart of creativity is courage."

"Words are the most powerful weapons."

"Satire is a lesson, parody is a game."

"The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness."

"I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child."

"Memory can be corrected by imagination."

"Talent is a horrible thing to waste."

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter."

"Life is a work of art shaped by the artist who lives it."

"One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to preserve oneself from being lynched."

"The only thing that matters is the integrity of the work."

"I despise applause. I long for approval."

"Genius is finding the invisible link between things."

"You can't tell a book by its cover, but you can tell a lot by its first sentence."

"The real problem is that the word infinity is not enough."

"Pain, then, is a secret."

"Loneliness is either the richest or the poorest thing, depending on how you look at it."

"The difference between an art and a craft is largely one of pride in execution."

"I have often noticed that these happy people are always led to mistaken conclusions."

"Imagination without knowledge leads you astray, but knowledge without imagination is barren."

"Knowing a word is not the same as understanding it."

"The cradle of human kindness is a mother's arms."

"To play safe, I prefer to accept only an Antarctic hierarchy of blubbers."