London doesn’t love the latent or the lurking, has neither time, nor taste, nor sense for anything less discernible than the red flag in front of the steam-roller. It wants cash over the counter and letters ten feet high.
Henry James
Urban Indifference, Blunt Practicality, Visibility, Haste, Simplicity, Industry
Henry James’s Quotes On Topics
Behavior | Incompleteness | Sudden Descent | Cultural Commentary | Conditional | Error | Detail | Moderation | Sensibility | Romantic Sacrifice | Necessity | Transformation | Selfless Nature | Puritan Morality | Love For Country | Conclusion | Emotional Support | Commentary | Romanticism | Infinite Creation | More
More Henry James Quotes
“I think patriotism is like charity – it begins at home.” Henry James
National Pride, Charity Begins, Patriotism Definition, Home Values, Civic Duty, Love For Country
Henry James National Pride, Charity Begins, Patriotism Definition, Home Values, Civic Duty, Love For Country“We trust to novels to train us in the practice of great indignations and great generosity.” Henry James
Novel, Indignation, Generosity, Trust, Reflection, Training
Henry James Novel, Indignation, Generosity, Trust, Reflection, Training“There are bad manners everywhere, but an aristocracy is bad manners organized.” Henry James
Social Hierarchy, Manners, Class, Aristocracy, Society, Politeness
Henry James Social Hierarchy, Manners, Class, Aristocracy, Society, Politeness“That accurst autobiographic form which puts a premium on the loose, the improvised, the cheap, and the easy.” Henry James
Self-indulgence, Simplicity, Over-exploration, Writing, Laziness, Convenience
Henry James Self-indulgence, Simplicity, Over-exploration, Writing, Laziness, Convenience“The summer had turned, the summer had gone; the autumn had dropped upon Bly and had blown out half our lights.” Henry James
Seasonal Change, Loss, Reflection, Change, Sadness, Transition
Henry James Seasonal Change, Loss, Reflection, Change, Sadness, Transition“This was the sound he cherished when alone in the stillness of his rooms. He sought and guarded the stillness, so that it might prevail there till the inevitable sounds of life, once more, comparatively coarse and harsh, should smother and deaden it – doubtless by the same process with which they would officiously heal the ache in his soul that was somehow one with it.” Henry James
Cherished Solitude, Inner Stillness, Sound, Stillness, Solitude, Ache
Henry James Cherished Solitude, Inner Stillness, Sound, Stillness, Solitude, Ache“The note I wanted; that of the strange and sinister embroidered on the very type of the normal and easy.” Henry James
Unexpected, Complexity, Contrast, Oddity, Intrigue, Normal
Henry James Unexpected, Complexity, Contrast, Oddity, Intrigue, Normal“To treat a big subject in the intensely summarized fashion demanded by an evening’s traffic of the stage when the evening, freely clipped at each end, is reduced to two hours and a half, is a feat of which the difficulty looms large.” Henry James
Summary, Theater, Complexity, Stage, Performance, Difficulty
Henry James Summary, Theater, Complexity, Stage, Performance, Difficulty“Whatever life you lead you must put your soul in it – to make any sort of success of it; and from the moment you do that it ceases to be romance, I assure you: it becomes grim reality!” Henry James
Life Dedication, Grim Reality, Soul Investment, Personal Success, True Effort, Romantic Loss
Henry James Life Dedication, Grim Reality, Soul Investment, Personal Success, True Effort, Romantic Loss“Between nine and ten, at last, in the high clear picture – he was moving in these days, as in a gallery, from clever canvas to clever canvas – he drew a long breath: it was so presented to him from the first that the spell of his luxury wouldn’t be broken.” Henry James
Artistic Vision, Calm Reflection, Luxury, Presence, Insight
Henry James Artistic Vision, Calm Reflection, Luxury, Presence, Insight“I recall my fleeting instants in Savannah as the taste of a cup charged to the brim.” Henry James
Fleeting Memory, Overflowing Taste, Memory, Taste, Overflowing, Fleeting
Henry James Fleeting Memory, Overflowing Taste, Memory, Taste, Overflowing, Fleeting“Adversity had not only ruined him, it had frightened him, and he was evidently going through his remnant of life on tiptoe, for fear of waking up the hostile fates.” Henry James
Adversity, Fear, Life, Remnants, Balance, Caution
Henry James Adversity, Fear, Life, Remnants, Balance, Caution“I’m yours for ever – for ever and ever. Here I stand; I’m as firm as a rock. If you’ll only trust me, how little you’ll be disappointed. Be mine as I am yours.” Henry James
Loyalty, Commitment, Trust, Eternity, Affection, Union
Henry James Loyalty, Commitment, Trust, Eternity, Affection, Union“Oh we’re not loved. We’re not even hated. We’re only just sweetly ignored.” Henry James
Isolation, Neglect, Indifference, Ignored, Emotions, Presence
Henry James Isolation, Neglect, Indifference, Ignored, Emotions, Presence“Kidd, turn off the light to spare my blushes.” Henry James
Embarrassment, Humility, Modesty, Discretion, Concealment, Discomfort
Henry James Embarrassment, Humility, Modesty, Discretion, Concealment, Discomfort“Europe was best described, to his mind, as an elaborate engine for dissociating the confined American from that indispensable knowledge, and was accordingly only rendered bearable by these occasional stations of relief, traps for the arrest of wandering western airs.” Henry James
Cultural Engine, Wandering Knowledge, Knowledge, Engine, Cultural, Wandering
Henry James Cultural Engine, Wandering Knowledge, Knowledge, Engine, Cultural, Wandering“You think too much. I suppose I do; but I can't help it, my mind is so terribly active. When I give myself, I give myself. I pay the penalty in my headaches, my famous headaches—a perfect circlet of pain! But I carry it as a queen carries her crown.” Henry James
Overthinking, Mental Burden, Active Mind, Pain, Inner Strength, Personal Sacrifice
Henry James Overthinking, Mental Burden, Active Mind, Pain, Inner Strength, Personal Sacrifice“In art economy is always beauty.” Henry James
Artistic Economy, Beauty, Creativity, Economy, Visual, Struggle
Henry James Artistic Economy, Beauty, Creativity, Economy, Visual, Struggle“It exhibits the effort of an essentially prosaic mind to lift itself, by a prolonged muscular strain, into poetry.” Henry James
Prosaic Effort, Creative Strain, Poetic Struggle, Narrative Effort, Strain, Poetry
Henry James Prosaic Effort, Creative Strain, Poetic Struggle, Narrative Effort, Strain, Poetry“Now that she was in the secret, now that she knew something that so much concerned her and the eclipse of which had made life resemble an attempt to play whilst with an imperfect pack of cards, the truth of things, their mutual relations, their meaning, and for the most part their horror, rose before her with a kind of architectural vastness.” Henry James
Revelation, Insight, Truth, Complexity, Awareness, Understanding
Henry James Revelation, Insight, Truth, Complexity, Awareness, Understanding