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For men dare not face the universe with no better backing than their own resources; all men that live, and that go perforce about this world like blundering lost children whose rescuer is not yet in sight, have a vital need to believe in this sustaining legend about the Redeemer: and the wickedness and the foolishness of no man can avail against the fond optimism of mankind.

— James Branch Cabell The Silver Stallion (1926)

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More quotes by James Branch Cabell

You must permit that I begin it in my own way, with what may to you at first seem dream-stuff.

The Cream of the Jest (1917)

The desire to write perfectly of beautiful happenings is, as the saying runs, old as the hills — and as immortal.

The Certain Hour (1916)

Life is very marvelous ... and to the wonders of the earth there is no end appointed.

The Silver Stallion (1926)

Good and evil keep very exact accounts... and the face of every man is their ledger.

Jurgen (1919)

While it is well enough to leave footprints on the sands of time, it is even more important to make sure they point in a commendable direction.

All James Branch Cabell quotes →

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Life doesn't end just because someone leaves.

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Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.

Helen Keller Optimism (1903)

Optimists and pessimists die the same way. They just live differently. I prefer to live as an optimist.

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Look up and not down, look forward and not back, look out and not in, and lend a hand!

Edward Everett Hale Ten Times One is Ten (1870)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: James Branch Cabell (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.