A man can spend his whole existence never learning the simple lesson that he has only one life and that if he fails to do what he wants with it, nobo…

- Louis Auchincloss

A neurotic can perfectly well be a literary genius, but his greatest danger is always that he will not recognize when he is dull.

- Louis Auchincloss

There is a charm, even for homely things, in perfect maintenance.

- Louis Auchincloss

We were not as rich as the Rockefellers or Mellons, but we were rich enough to know how rich they were.

- Louis Auchincloss

Keep doing good deeds long enough, and you'll probably turn out a good man in spite of yourself.

- Louis Auchincloss

Novels must have verisimilitude, and truth has little enough of that.

- Louis Auchincloss

I don't give a damn what people think.

- Louis Auchincloss

The only thing that keeps a man going is energy. And what is energy but liking life?

- Louis Auchincloss

To most readers the word 'fiction' is an utter fraud. They are entirely convinced that each character has an exact counterpart in real life and that …

- Louis Auchincloss