The secret of a successful marriage is not to be at home too much.

Secretly I'm a real big nerd. I'd rather stay home and play Scrabble than go to a Hollywood party any day of the week. And I love reading about history and watching the Discovery Channel.

Irish fiction is full of secrets guilty pasts divided identities. It is no wonder that there is such a rich tradition of Gothic writing in a nation so haunted by history.

History keeps her secrets longer than most of us. But she has one secret that I will reveal to you tonight in the greatest confidence. Sometimes there are no winners at all. And sometimes nobody needs to lose.

One of the consequences of the Iranian revolution has been an explosion of history. A country once known only from British consular reports and intrepid travelogues is now awash with historical documents letters diaries grainy video weblogs and secret police files of questionable authenticity.

If a secret history of books could be written and the author's private thoughts and meanings noted down alongside of his story how many insipid volumes would become interesting and dull tales excite the reader!

If we could read the secret history of our enemies we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.

Study history study history. In history lies all the secrets of statecraft.

Nothing is more capable of troubling our reason and consuming our health than secret notions of jealousy in solitude.

It is the people who can do nothing who find nothing to do and the secret to happiness in this world is not only to be useful but to be forever elevating one's uses.