Skip to content

It is probable a true history of human events would show that a far larger proportion of our acts are the results of sudden impulses and accident, than of that reason of which we so much boast.

— James Fenimore Cooper The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea (1823)

Another quote →

More quotes by James Fenimore Cooper

Candor is a proof of both a just frame of mind, and of a good tone of breeding. It is a quality that belongs equally to the honest man and to the gentleman.

It is better for a man to die at peace with himself than to live haunted by an evil conscience.

The Last of the Mohicans (1826)

When the white man dies, he thinks he is at peace; but the red-men know how to torture even the ghosts of their enemies.

The Last of the Mohicans (1826)

Is it justice to make evil and then punish for it?

The Last of the Mohicans (1826)

History, like love, is so apt to surround her heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness.

The Last of the Mohicans (1826)

All James Fenimore Cooper quotes →

Attribution

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