“Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.”
“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.”
“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.”
“After all, one knows one's weak points so well, that it's rather bewildering to have the critics overlook them & invent others.”
“Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive.”
“The worst of doing one's duty was that it apparently unfitted one for doing anything else.”
“When people ask for time, it's always for time to say no.”
“No insect hangs its nest on threads as frail as those which will sustain the weight of human vanity.”
“A New York divorce is in itself a diploma of virtue.”
“Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.”
“True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.”
“The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it.”
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
“The river glideth at his own sweet will.”
“A host, of golden daffodils.”
“That inward eye which is the bliss of solitude.”
“Give unto me, made lowly wise, the spirit of self-sacrifice.”
“Plain living and high thinking are no more.”
“Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; and all that mighty heart is lying still!”
“Earth has not anything to show more fair.”