16 quotes
Not a day passes over the earth, but men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great words, and suffer noble sorrows.
The Cloister and the Hearth (1861)
Lower a bucket into a well of self-deception, and what comes up must be immortal truth, mustn't it?
The Cloister and the Hearth (1861)
When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.
Put Yourself in His Place (1870)
In players, vanity cripples art at every step.
Peg Woffington (1853)
What young woman is not, more or less, a mirror?
Christie Johnstone (1853)
The absent are like children; they are helpless to defend themselves.
Foul Play (1869)
It must be confessed that a sort of halo of personal grandeur surrounds a great actress.
Peg Woffington (1853)
The fortunate man is he who, born poor, or nobody, works gradually up to wealth and consideration, and, having got them, dies before he finds they were not worth so much trouble.
Christie Johnstone (1853)
Well, every one for himself, and Providence for us all--as the elephant said when he danced among the chickens.
A Simpleton (1873)
Courage, mon ami, le diable est mort!
Take courage, my friend, the devil is dead!
The Cloister and the Hearth (1861)
We go and fancy that everybody is thinking of us. But he is not: he is like us; he is thinking of himself.
Art is not imitation but illusion.
Christie Johnstone (1853)
...even Christians loved one another at first starting.
The Cloister and the Hearth (1861)
First, think in as homely a way as you can; next, shove your pen under the thought, and lift it by polysyllables to the true level of fiction
Peg Woffington (1853)
Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.
Attributed
Advice given to an aspiring writer.
Attributed