83 quotes
Ars longa vita brevis est was a truth that could not be argued with in the Eternal City.
Birds of America (1971)
Furness […] patently believed in nothing, not even in himself, nothing, that is, but the amusing warp-and-woof of events and persons.
The Groves of Academe (1952)
About truth I have always been monotheistic. It has been an article of faith with me, going back to college days, that there is a truth and that it is knowable.
How I Grew (1987)
The theater is the only branch of art much cared for by people of wealth; like canasta, it does away with the bother of talk after dinner.
On the Contrary: Articles of Belief 1946–1961 (1961)
They would not be happy unless she conformed to their definition of enjoyment, which meant that she would have to be miserable to satisfy them.
Birds of America (1971)
The discovery that one cannot convince an opponent and that it is hopeless to go on trying involves a confession of subjectivity that deprives the world of meaning.
The Oasis (1949)
Liberty, as it is conceived by current opinion, has nothing inherent about it; it is a sort of gift or trust bestowed on the individual by the state pending good behavior.
On the Contrary: Articles of Belief 1946–1961 (1961)
Thin women are more sensual; scientific fact — the nerve ends are closer to the surface.
The Group (1963)
Morality did not keep well; it required stable conditions; it was costly; it was subject to variations, and the market for it was uncertain.
The Oasis (1949)
For me, in fact, the mark of the historic is the nonchalance with which it picks up an individual and deposits him in a trend, like a house playfully moved in a tornado.
On the Contrary: Articles of Belief 1946–1961 (1961)
To allude negligently to Kafka, Yeats, Proust, Stendhal, or St. John of the Cross in a tone of of-course-you-know-them is canonical for Mademoiselle contributors, whatever the topic in hand.
On the Contrary: Articles of Belief 1946–1961 (1961)
I'm afraid I'm not sufficiently inhibited about the things that other women are inhibited about for me. They feel that you've given away trade secrets.
Making exceptions was usually a poor idea, he found; it was the same principle as 'Just one won't hurt you.'
Birds of America (1971)
[B]ureaucracy, the rule of no one, has become the modern form of despotism.
On the Contrary: Articles of Belief 1946–1961 (1961)
Her [Sophie Weil's] fault was only an unusual degree of mental activity. The curse of intelligence. Stupid people were unconscious of their slow-moving thought processes.
Cannibals and Missionaries (1979)
Yet it was part of being an American that, once you got started, you felt impelled to tell all the people all the truth all the time.
Birds of America (1971)
One of the big features of living alone was that you could talk to yourself all you wanted and address imaginary audiences, running the gamut of emotion.
The Group (1963)
You can date the evolving life of a mind, like the age of a tree, by the rings of friendship formed by the expanding central trunk. In the course of my history, not love or marriage so much as friendship has promoted growth.
How I Grew (1987)
[Y]ou have to live without love, learn not to need it, in order to live with it.
The Group (1963)
In violence, we forget who we are.
On the Contrary: Articles of Belief 1946–1961 (1961)