Charles Reade

"Not a day passes over the earth, but men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great words, and suffer noble sorrows."

"Well, every one for himself, and Providence for us all--as the elephant said when he danced among the chickens."

"...even Christians loved one another at first starting."

"Courage, mon ami, le diable est mort! / Take courage, my friend, the devil is dead!"

"Art is not imitation but illusion."

"Lower a bucket into a well of self-deception, and what comes up must be immortal truth, mustnt it?"

"The fortunate man is he who, born poor, or nobody, works gradually up to wealth and consideration, and, having got them, dies before he finds they were not worth so much trouble."

"What young woman is not, more or less, a mirror?"

"When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece."

"First, think in as homely a way as you can; next, shove your pen under the thought, and lift it by polysyllables to the true level of fiction"

"It must be confessed that a sort of halo of personal grandeur surrounds a great actress."

"In players, vanity cripples art at every step."