But the dullard’s envy of brilliant men is always assuaged by the suspicion that they will come to a bad end. ~ Zuleika Dobson by Sir Max Beerbohm
Tag Archives: Sir Max Beerbohm
Seven Emotion Quotes from Literature
Reason is the first victim of strong emotion. ~ Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
They came to her, naturally, since she was a woman, all day long with this and that; one wanting this, another that; the children were growing up; she often felt she was nothing but a sponge sopped full of human emotions. ~ To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
But sleep, in the long run, proves greater than all emotions. ~ The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood
A crowd, proportionately to its size, magnifies all that in its units pertains to the emotions, and diminishes all that in them pertains to thought. ~ Zuleika Dobson by Sir Max Beerbohm
The human brain is capable of only one strong emotion at a time, and if it be filled with curiosity or scientific enthusiasm, there is no room for fear. ~ The Brown Hand by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
For it is the mind which creates the world about us, and, even though we stand side by side in the same meadow, my eyes will never see what is beheld by yours, my heart will never stir to the emotions with which yours is touched. ~ The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft by George Gissing
After violent emotion most people and all boys demand food. ~ Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
40 Great Quotes from Literature
Need some advice or perspective? Here are 40 great quotes from literature that may help. These are some of our favorites from our words of wisdom quote collection.
- The mind has many watchdogs; sometimes they bark unnecessarily, but a wise man never ignores their warning. ~ A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke
- Words spoken cannot be recalled. ~ He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope
- People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it’s served up. ~ A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
- Fair speech may hide a foul heart. ~ The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien
- It is always the unusual which alarms. ~ The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
- It is not violence that best overcomes hate-nor vengeance that most certainly heals injury. ~ Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke. ~ Count Alarcos: A Tragedy by Benjamin Disraeli
- There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. ~ Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare
- “Words,” said the host, at length, “is worse’n bullets. You never know what they’ll hit.” ~ The Night Horseman by Max Brand
- Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you. ~ A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
- “When you’ve learned to laugh at the things that should be laughed at, and not to laugh at those that shouldn’t, you’ve got wisdom and understanding.” ~ Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- The fool wonders, the wise man asks. ~ Count Alarcos: A Tragedy by Benjamin Disraeli
- “All things are ready, if our minds be so.” ~ Henry V by William Shakespeare
- “No one is ever too old to do a foolish thing.” ~ Uncle Silas by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
- “Would the world ever have been made if its maker had been afraid of making trouble? Making life means making trouble.” ~ Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
- Cheerfulness, it would appear, is a matter which depends fully as much on the state of things within as on the state of things without and around us. ~ Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
- “Just breathing isn’t living!” ~ Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
- “Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, As self-neglecting.” ~ Henry V by William Shakespeare
- The mind is its own place, and in it self
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. ~ Paradise Lost by John Milton - To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge. ~ Sybil by Benjamin Disraeli
- “Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing.” ~ Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- “Nobody can spoil a life, my dear. That’s nonsense. Things happen, but we bob up.” ~ The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
- Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery. ~ David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
- “Do you know anything on earth which has not a dangerous side if it is mishandled and exaggerated? “ ~ The Land of Mist by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. ~ The Awakening by Kate Chopin
- You cannot make a man by standing a sheep on its hind-legs. But by standing a flock of sheep in that position you can make a crowd of men. ~ Zuleika Dobson by Sir Max Beerbohm
- Unwelcome truths are not popular. ~ The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- “And, above all things, never think that you’re not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you very much at your own reckoning.” ~ The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope
- How quick come the reasons for approving what we like! ~ Persuasion by Jane Austen
- Gossip is a sort of smoke that comes from the dirty tobacco-pipes of of those who diffuse it: it proves nothing but the bad taste of the smoker. ~ Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
- “The chief proof of man’s real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness.” ~ The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- She could not explain in so many words, but she felt that those who prepare for all the emergencies of life beforehand may equip themselves at the expense of joy. ~ Howards End by E. M. Forster
- He has spent his life best who has enjoyed it most. ~ The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler
- Ignorance is the parent of fear. ~ Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- “Its matter was not new to me, but was presented in a new aspect. It shook me in my habit – the habit of nine-tenths of the world – of believing that all was right about me, because I was used to it.” ~ Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
- A man will tell you that he has worked in a mine for forty years unhurt by an accident as a reason why he should apprehend no danger, though the roof is beginning to sink. ~ Silas Marner by George Eliot
- The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind companion; and so let all young persons take their choice. ~ Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
- Old habit of mind is one of the toughest things to get away from in the world. It transmits itself like physical form and feature. ~ A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
- “We learn from failure, not from success!” ~ Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last. ~ Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
10 Funny Quotes from Literature
Classic literature can be inspirational. It can be poetic. It can be educational. Classic literature can also be really funny! Check out these ten funny quotes from literature:
1 – “How dreadful!” cried Lord Henry. “I can stand brute force, but brute reason is quite unbearable. There is something unfair about its use. It is hitting below the intellect.” ~ The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
2 – “If you could see my legs when I take my boots off, you’d form some idea of what unrequited affection is.” ~ Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
3 – Indeed, he would sometimes remark, when a man fell into his anecdotage, it was a sign for him to retire from the world. ~ Lothair by Benjamin Disraeli
4 – You cannot make a man by standing a sheep on its hind-legs. But by standing a flock of sheep in that position you can make a crowd of men. ~ Zuleika Dobson by Sir Max Beerbohm
5 – The bishop did not whistle: we believe that they lose the power of doing so on being consecrated. ~ The Warden by Anthony Trollope
6 – A story with a moral appended is like the bill of a mosquito. It bores you, and then injects a stinging drop to irritate your conscience. ~ Strictly Business by O. Henry
7 – From politics, it was an easy step to silence. ~ Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
8 – Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example. ~ The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
9 – It is not that I object to the work, mind you; I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. ~ Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
10 – I don’t want to repeat my innocence. I want the pleasure of losing it again. ~ This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
If you enjoyed these quotes check out our humorous quotes page or our random funny quote feature.