Quotes by Novelist | Beyond Motive 7/344

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Quotes by Novelist

"To give up the task of reforming society is to give up one's responsibility as a free man."

"To give up the task of reforming society is to give up one's responsibility as a free man."

Alan Paton, South African Novelist

Society, Man, Responsibility, Southafrican

31

"If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country."

"If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country."

E. M. Forster, English Novelist

Friendship, Friend, Hope, Country

31

"Happiness does not lie in happiness, but in the achievement of it."

"Happiness does not lie in happiness, but in the achievement of it."

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian Novelist

Happiness, Lie, Achievement

31

"Love is not weakness. It is strong. Only the sacrament of marriage can contain it."

"Love is not weakness. It is strong. Only the sacrament of marriage can contain it."

Boris Pasternak, Russian Novelist

Love, Marriage, Weakness

31

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly."

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly."

Richard Bach, American Novelist

Trust, Belief, End, Ignorance, Injustice

31

"One of the saddest things is the only thing a man can do for 8 hours a day day after day is work. You can't eat 8 hours a day nor drink for 8 hours a day nor make love for 8 hours."

"One of the saddest things is the only thing a man can do for 8 hours a day day after day is work. You can't eat 8 hours a day nor drink for 8 hours a day nor make love for 8 hours."

William Faulkner, American Novelist

Labor, Work, Life, Limit, Truth

31

"Most of the time we think we're sick, it's all in the mind."

"Most of the time we think we're sick, it's all in the mind."

Thomas Wolfe, American Novelist

31

"A good heart is better than all the heads in the world."

"A good heart is better than all the heads in the world."

Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton, British Novelist

31

"Boredom: the desire for desires."

"Boredom: the desire for desires."

Leo Tolstoy, Russian Novelist

31

"All TV can do is capture the spirit of a book because the medium is so utterly different. But I'm very grateful for the readers that Masterpiece Theatre has undoubtedly brought me."

"All TV can do is capture the spirit of a book because the medium is so utterly different. But I'm very grateful for the readers that Masterpiece Theatre has undoubtedly brought me."

Joanna Trollope, English Novelist

Spirit, Theatre

31

"Whatever a person may pray for, that person prays for a miracle. Every prayer comes down to this - Almighty God, grant that two times two not equal four."

"Whatever a person may pray for, that person prays for a miracle. Every prayer comes down to this - Almighty God, grant that two times two not equal four."

Ivan Turgenev, Russian Novelist

God, May, Prayer

31

"But after I got them to leave and shut the door and turned off the light it wasn't any good. It was like saying good-by to a statue. After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain."

"But after I got them to leave and shut the door and turned off the light it wasn't any good. It was like saying good-by to a statue. After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain."

Ernest Hemingway, American Novelist

Emotion, Pain, Loneliness, Sadness, Memory

31

"Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny."

"Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny."

Charles Reade, English Novelist

Character, Habit, Destiny

31

"We need courage to take ourselves seriously, to look closely and without flinching, to regard the things that frighten us in life and art with wonder."

"We need courage to take ourselves seriously, to look closely and without flinching, to regard the things that frighten us in life and art with wonder."

Elizabeth Gilbert, American Novelist

Courage, Fear, Wonder, Truth

31

"I've seen public opinion shift like the wind and put out the very fire it lighted."

"I've seen public opinion shift like the wind and put out the very fire it lighted."

Rachel Field, American Novelist

Fire, Opinion, Public, Publicopinion

31

"I'm an Irish Catholic and I have a long iceberg of guilt."

"I'm an Irish Catholic and I have a long iceberg of guilt."

Edna O'Brien, Irish Novelist

31

"Necessity has the face of a dog."

"Necessity has the face of a dog."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

31

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known."

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known."

Charles Dickens, English Novelist

Inspirational, Rest

31

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

Anatole France, French Novelist

Equality, Law, Poor, Sleep

31

"A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist."

"A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist."

Vladimir Nabokov, American Novelist

Imagination, Writer

31

"Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate."

"Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate."

J. R. R. Tolkien, English Novelist

Hope, May, Road

31

"All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence than that which he partakes in common with all around him, will never have any other than an existence of mediocrity."

"All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence than that which he partakes in common with all around him, will never have any other than an existence of mediocrity."

James F. Cooper, American Novelist

Character, Greatness, Existence, Individuality

30

"The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on."

"The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on."

Joseph Heller, American Novelist

30

"Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon."

"Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon."

E. M. Forster, English Novelist

30

"Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown. Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them, alas! we return."

"Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown. Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them, alas! we return."

E. M. Forster, English Novelist

30

"Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is."

"Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is."

Maxim Gorky, Russian Novelist

30

"My guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted."

"My guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted."

Franz Kafka, Austrian Novelist

30

"Nobody deserves your tears, but whoever deserves them will not make you cry."

"Nobody deserves your tears, but whoever deserves them will not make you cry."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

Emotional, Tears, Will

30

"Never mistake motion for action."

"Never mistake motion for action."

Ernest Hemingway, American Novelist

Mistake, Action

30

"Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either."

"Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either."

Gore Vidal, American Novelist

Books, Public, Today

30

"What I do believe is that there is always a relationship between writing and reading, a constant interplay between the writer on the one hand and the reader on the other."

"What I do believe is that there is always a relationship between writing and reading, a constant interplay between the writer on the one hand and the reader on the other."

Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban Novelist

Reading, Writer, Writing

30

"To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

"To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

Herman Melville, American Novelist

Philosophy, Heart, Hate, Hell

30

"Toil is man's allotment; toil of brain, or toil of hands, or a grief that's more than either, the grief and sin of idleness."

"Toil is man's allotment; toil of brain, or toil of hands, or a grief that's more than either, the grief and sin of idleness."

Herman Melville, American Novelist

Work, Grief, Idleness, Man, Sin

30

"Men are like rivers: the water is the same in each, and alike in all; but every river is narrow here, is more rapid there, here slower, there broader, now clear, now cold, now dull, now warm. It is the same with men. Every man carries in himself the germs of every human quality, and sometimes one manifests itself, sometimes another, and the man often becomes unlike himself, while still remaining the same man."

"Men are like rivers: the water is the same in each, and alike in all; but every river is narrow here, is more rapid there, here slower, there broader, now clear, now cold, now dull, now warm. It is the same with men. Every man carries in himself the germs of every human quality, and sometimes one manifests itself, sometimes another, and the man often becomes unlike himself, while still remaining the same man."

Leo Tolstoy, Russian Novelist

Psychology, Humanity, Individual, Diversity, Change

30

"Man will not merely endure; he will prevail."

"Man will not merely endure; he will prevail."

William Faulkner, American Novelist

Discipline, Man, Will

30

"If we can cease envisaging ourselves as metaphorical foetuses, and substitute the image of a newborn child, then that will be at least a small intellectual advance. In time, perhaps, we may even learn to toddle."

"If we can cease envisaging ourselves as metaphorical foetuses, and substitute the image of a newborn child, then that will be at least a small intellectual advance. In time, perhaps, we may even learn to toddle."

Salman Rushdie, Indian Novelist

Evolution, Growth, Change, Intellect, Learning

30

"Anxiety was born in the very same moment as mankind. And since we will never be able to master it, we will have to learn to live with it-just as we have learned to live with storms."

"Anxiety was born in the very same moment as mankind. And since we will never be able to master it, we will have to learn to live with it-just as we have learned to live with storms."

Paulo Coelho, Brazilian Novelist

Anxiety, Fear, Humanity, Storms

30

"Most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know."

"Most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know."

Aldous Huxley, English Novelist

Ignorance, Want

30

"Instinct is the nose of the mind."

"Instinct is the nose of the mind."

Delphine de Girardin, French Novelist

30

"Ideas are easy. It's the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats."

"Ideas are easy. It's the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats."

Sue Grafton, American Novelist

Creativity, Ideas, Execution, Sheep

29

"Traveling is seeing; it is the implicit that we travel by."

"Traveling is seeing; it is the implicit that we travel by."

Cynthia Ozick, American Novelist

Travel, Traveling

29

"But it's for every writer to decide his own pace, and the pace varies with the writer and the work."

"But it's for every writer to decide his own pace, and the pace varies with the writer and the work."

Donna Tartt, American Novelist

29

"All great literature is one of two stories, a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town."

"All great literature is one of two stories, a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town."

Leo Tolstoy, Russian Novelist

Literature, Story, Journey, Human

29

"The difference between tragedy and comedy: Tragedy is something awful happening to somebody else, while comedy is something awful happening to somebody else."

"The difference between tragedy and comedy: Tragedy is something awful happening to somebody else, while comedy is something awful happening to somebody else."

Aaron Allston, American Novelist

Comedy, Difference, Tragedy

29

"Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."

"Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."

Harper Lee, American Novelist

29

"Truth may be stretched, but cannot be broken, and always gets above falsehood, as does oil above water."

"Truth may be stretched, but cannot be broken, and always gets above falsehood, as does oil above water."

Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish Novelist

Truth, Falsehood, May, Oil

29

"The sole art that suits me is that which, rising from unrest, tends toward serenity."

"The sole art that suits me is that which, rising from unrest, tends toward serenity."

Andre Gide, French Novelist

29

"The words with which a child's heart is poisoned, whether through malice or through ignorance, remain branded in his memory, and sooner or later they burn his soul."

"The words with which a child's heart is poisoned, whether through malice or through ignorance, remain branded in his memory, and sooner or later they burn his soul."

Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Spanish Novelist

Behavior, Word, Memory, Impact, Emotion

29

"If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

"If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

Anatole France, French Novelist

29

"I think a servant of the enemy would look fairer and feel fouler."

"I think a servant of the enemy would look fairer and feel fouler."

J. R. R. Tolkien, English Novelist

Morality, Enemy, Deception, Appearance, Fairness

29

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