Quote collection
697 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"There's nothing sadder to me than associations held together by nothing but the glue of postage stamps. If you can't see or hear or touch a man, it's best to let him go."
"But Doc had one mental habit he could not get over. When anyone asked a question, Doc thought he wanted to know the answer."
"For it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more. And this is said in disparagement, whereas it is one of the greatest talents the species has and one that has made it superior to animals that are satisfied with what they have."
"The utter insanity of living in a place like this doesn't occur to the 9,000,000 people who inhabit New York. Except for visits I think I shall not be here any more as a resident."
"He never fell, never slipped back, never flew."
"A kind of second childhood falls on so many men. They trade their violence for the promise of a small increase of life span. In effect, the head of the house becomes the youngest child."
"The warfare between the unaroused male and female is constant and ferocious. Each blames the other for his loss of soul."
"Eventlessness has no posts to drape duration on. From nothing to nothing is no time at all."
"One pays for everything, the trick is not to pay too much of anything for anything."
"Why don't you go on west to California? There's work there, and it never gets cold. Why, you can reach out anywhere and pick an orange. Why, there's always some kind of crop to work in. Why don't you go there?"
"The break would never come as long as fear could turn to wrath."
"I have starved and it isn't nearly as bad as is generally supposed. Four days and a half was my longest stretch. Maybe there are pains that come later. Personally I think terror is the painful part of starvation."
"Critics are the eunuchs of literature. They stand by in envious awe while the whole man and his partner demonstrate the art of living."
"I had been practicing for the Depression a long time. I wasn't involved with loss. I didn't have money to lose, but in common with millions I did dislike hunger and cold."
"I think bullfights are for men who aren't very brave and wish they were."
"It is customary for the recipient of this award to offer personal or scholarly comment on the nature and the direction of literature. At this particular time, however, I think it would be well to consider the high duties and the responsibilities of the makers of literature."
"But you must give him some sign, some sign that you love him... or he'll never be a man. All his life he'll feel guilty and alone unless you release him."
"The difficulty of course is that I like women. It is only wives I am in trouble with."
"Niagara Falls is very nice. I'm very glad I saw it, because from now on if I am asked whether I have seen Niagara Falls I can say yes, and be telling the truth for once."
"(Suicide) takes some doing, with maybe pain and maybe hell."