Cakes and Ale

From "Cakes and Ale"

describing Alroy Kear:

"Most of us when we do a caddish thing harbour resentment against the person we have done it to, but Roy's heart, always in the right place, never permitted him such pettiness. He could use a man very shabbily without afterward bearing him the slightest ill-will."

on the use of "ready-made phrases" in spoken language:

"The Americans, who are the most efficient people on the earth, have carried this device to such a height of perfection and have invented so wide a range of pithy and hackneyed phrases that they can carry on an amusing and animated conversation without giving a moment's reflection to what they are saying and so leave their minds free to consider the more important matters of big business and fornication."

on the pure artist:

"I saw that Roy was not inclined to be amused. I was not annoyed, for I was quite used to people not being amused at my jokes. I often think that the purest type of the artist is the humorist who laughs alone at his own jests."