Literary Quotes Quotes

Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.

Never put off till tomorrow the book you can read today.

That’s how stories happen — with a turning point, an unexpected twist. There’s only one kind of happiness, but misfortune comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.

Joie est mon caractere, C'est la faute a Voltaire; Misere est mon trousseau C'est la faute a Rousseau. [Joy is my character, 'Tis the fault of Voltaire; Misery is my trousseau 'Tis the fault of Rousseau.] - Gavroche

Quotes from the Underground is a remarkable resource and must-read for writers, researchers, activists and indeed anyone who embraces progressive values and hopes to rescue politics from corporate control.

In general, of course, a stranger who tries to get you into an automobile is anything but noble, and in general a person who quotes great American novelists is anything but treacherous, and in general a man who says you needn't worry about money, or a man who smokes cigarettes, is somewhere in between.

Aphorisms are literature's hand luggage. Light and compact, they fit easily into the overhead compartment of your brain.

There are many things that are unbelievable. Especially before breakfast, is it not? That is what one of your classics says. Six impossible things before breakfast.

As Dostoevski said: 'Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared with love in dreams.

I remember when I was in school I had this teacher give me this E.L. Doctorow quote: They asked him how much historical research he does for his books and he said, 'As little as possible.' So I try and adhere to that.

To this generation I would say: Memorize some bit of verse of truth or beauty.

Off I go, rummaging about in books for sayings which please me.

What light through yonder window breaks?

No really sensible person ever remembers enough poetry to recite it.