A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean question: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well – or ill?
John Steinbeck
Life Choices, Good Vs Evil, Morality, Life Decisions, Judgment, Reflection
John Steinbeck’s Quotes On Topics
Women’s Strength | Texan Identity | Despair | Friendship Tests | Worth | Few Exceptions | Emotional Rain | Time | Thought | Godliness | Individuality | Cultural Norms | Mediocrity Escapes | Writer’s Impact | Time Travel | Prayer | Expectation | Disorder | Money Isolation | Breakfast Order | More
More John Steinbeck Quotes
“A man on a horse is spiritually, as well as physically, bigger than a man on foot.” John Steinbeck
Horse Connection, Spiritual Growth, Human Strength, Horses, Growth, Strength
John Steinbeck Horse Connection, Spiritual Growth, Human Strength, Horses, Growth, Strength“You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself.” John Steinbeck
Empathy, Understanding, Connection, Humanity, Reflection, Life
John Steinbeck Empathy, Understanding, Connection, Humanity, Reflection, Life“Life could not change the sun or water the desert, so it changed itself.” John Steinbeck
Life Change, Desert Survival, Self Growth, Adaptation, Nature, Transformation
John Steinbeck Life Change, Desert Survival, Self Growth, Adaptation, Nature, Transformation“We only have one story. All novels, all poetry are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil.” John Steinbeck
Good Vs Evil, Universal Story, Eternal Conflict, Novel Themes, Poetry, Life Struggles
John Steinbeck Good Vs Evil, Universal Story, Eternal Conflict, Novel Themes, Poetry, Life Struggles“You know most people live ninety per cent in the past, seven per cent in the present, and that only leaves them three per cent for the future.” John Steinbeck
Time, Life, Present, Past, Future, Reflection
John Steinbeck Time, Life, Present, Past, Future, Reflection“Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don’t believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the slow, eating agony of a lie is never lost.” John Steinbeck
Truth, Lies, Emotions, Pain, Honesty, Relationships
John Steinbeck Truth, Lies, Emotions, Pain, Honesty, Relationships“The candle aimed its spark of light at heaven, like an artist who consumes himself to become divine.” John Steinbeck
Candle Light, Consumes Divine, Artist Spark, Aspiration, Sacrifice, Light
John Steinbeck Candle Light, Consumes Divine, Artist Spark, Aspiration, Sacrifice, Light“Tom’s cowardice was as huge as his courage, as it must be in great men. His violence balanced his tenderness, and himself was a pitted battlefield of his own forces.” John Steinbeck
Courage, Cowardice, Conflict, Personality, Balance, Strength
John Steinbeck Courage, Cowardice, Conflict, Personality, Balance, Strength“For nitrates are not the land, nor phosphates and the length of fiber in the cotton is not the land. Carbon is not a man, nor salt nor water nor calcium. He is all these, but he is much more, much more; and the land is so much more than its analysis.” John Steinbeck
Land, Nature, Elements, Life, Soil, Analysis
John Steinbeck Land, Nature, Elements, Life, Soil, Analysis“When I was very young and the urge to be someplace was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch.” John Steinbeck
Youth, Maturity, Life, Growth, Experience, Change
John Steinbeck Youth, Maturity, Life, Growth, Experience, Change“There seemed to be no cure for loneliness save only being alone.” John Steinbeck
Loneliness, Isolation, Solitude, Emotions, Self, Reflection
John Steinbeck Loneliness, Isolation, Solitude, Emotions, Self, Reflection“Are cats strange animals or do they so resemble us that we find them curious as we do monkeys?” John Steinbeck
Curious Cats, Animal Comparisons, Resemblance Humans, Cats, Strange, Monkeys
John Steinbeck Curious Cats, Animal Comparisons, Resemblance Humans, Cats, Strange, Monkeys“So often men trip by being in a rush. If one were properly to perform a difficult and subtle act, he should first inspect the end to be achieved and then, once he had accepted the end as desirable, he should forget it completely and concentrate solely on the means. By this method he would not be moved to false action by anxiety or hurry or fear. Very few people learn this.” John Steinbeck
Trip Rush, Inspect End, Subtle Means, Patience, Focus, Planning
John Steinbeck Trip Rush, Inspect End, Subtle Means, Patience, Focus, Planning“Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all else, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word.” John Steinbeck
Texas Pride, State Identity, Cultural Influence, Obsession, Pride, Nation
John Steinbeck Texas Pride, State Identity, Cultural Influence, Obsession, Pride, Nation“The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the slow, eating agony of a lie is never lost.” John Steinbeck
Truth, Lies, Pain, Agony, Honesty, Suffering
John Steinbeck Truth, Lies, Pain, Agony, Honesty, Suffering“He drank too much when he could get it, ate too much when it was there, talked too much all the time.” John Steinbeck
Excessive Behavior, Addiction, Habits, Self-Control, Life, Communication
John Steinbeck Excessive Behavior, Addiction, Habits, Self-Control, Life, Communication“That is a great mystery,” said Doctor Winter. “That is a mystery that has disturbed rulers all over the world – how the people know. It disturbs the invaders now, I am told, how news runs through censorships, how the truth of things fights free of control. It is a great mystery.” John Steinbeck
Power, Control, Truth, Knowledge, Censorship, Mystery
John Steinbeck Power, Control, Truth, Knowledge, Censorship, Mystery“Man, unlike anything organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments.” John Steinbeck
Man, Growth, Work, Concepts, Accomplishments, Evolution
John Steinbeck Man, Growth, Work, Concepts, Accomplishments, Evolution