We are far more liable to catch the vices than the virtues of our associates.

You can predict a person’s future and divine his bank balance if you know two things: the books he reads, the people he associates with.

Try not to associate bodily defect with mental, my good friend, except for a solid reason

Eventually, as my books became best-sellers, the nickels pile up and oneday I was offered a substantial four-book deal that was lucrative as any airliner hijacking in history. Though writing those four books was hard work, at least I didn’t have to wear Kevlar body armor, carry heavy bandoliers of spare ammunition, or work with associates named Mad Dog.

This is what I want. I want people to take care of me. I want them to force comfort upon me. I want the soft-pillow feeling that I associate with memories of being ill when I was younger, soft pillows and fresh linens and satin-edged blankets and hot chocolate. It’s not so much the comfort itself as knowing there’s someone who wants to take care of you.

Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.