I am not ashamed of my grandparents for having been slaves. I am only ashamed of myself for having at one time being ashamed.
At first, I spend about four hours a day writing. Toward the end of a book, I spend up to 16 hours a day on it, because all I want to do is make it good and get it done.
Books, like proverbs, receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of the ages through which they have passed.