James Stephens quotes

Finality is death. Perfection is finality. Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it. (James Stephens)

Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.

James Stephens

Let the past be content with itself, for man needs forgetfulness as well as memory.

James Stephens

The duty of a lyrical poet is not to express or explain, it is to intensify life.

James Stephens

A woman is a branchy tree and man a singing wind; and from her branches carelessly he takes what he can find.

James Stephens

We get wise by asking questions, and even if these are not answered, we get wise, for a well-packed question carries its answer on its back as a snail carries its shell.

James Stephens

Because our lives are cowardly and sly, Because we do not dare to take or give, Because we scowl and pass each other by, We do not live; we do not dare to live.

James Stephens

I would think Until I found Something I can never find; – Something Lying On the ground, In the bottom Of my mind.

James Stephens

If I asked her master he'd give me a cask a day; But she, with the beer at hand, not a gill would arrange! May she marry a ghost and bear him a kitten, and may The High King of Glory permit her to get the mange.

James Stephens

Originality does not consist in saying what no one has ever said before, but in saying exactly what you think yourself.

James Stephens

What the heart knows today the head will understand tomorrow. (James Stephens)

Men come of age at sixty, women at fifteen.

James Stephens

Women and birds are able to see without turning their heads, and that is indeed a necessary provision for they are both surrounded by enemies.

James Stephens

You must be fit to give before you can be fit to receive.

James Stephens

A sword, a spade, and a thought should never be allowed to rust.

James Stephens

Quietness is the beginning of virtue. To be silent is to be beautiful. Stars do not make a noise.

James Stephens

Speech and prose are not the same thing. They have different wave-lengths, for speech moves at the speed of light, where prose moves at the speed of the alphabet, and must be consecutive and grammatical and word-perfect. Prose cannot gesticulate. Speech can sometimes do nothing else.

James Stephens

James Stephens

James Stephens - Image

Photo: Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0

Occupation: Irish Poet
Born: February 9, 1882
Died: December 26, 1950
Quotes count: 17

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