“In plucking the fruit of memory one runs the risk of spoiling its bloom.”

— Joseph Conrad, The Arrow of Gold, 1919, Author's note

About Joseph Conrad

1857 – 1924

Polish-British novelist, author of "Heart of Darkness".

“All intellectual and artistic ambitions are permissible, up to and even beyond the limit of prudent sanity.”

“It's only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.”

“The sea never changes and its works, for all the talk of men, are wrapped in mystery.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”