Take things more easily. Don’t ask yourself so much whether this or that is good for you. Don’t question your conscience so much – it will get out of tune, like a strummed piano. Keep it for great occasions. Don’t try so much to form your character – it’s like trying to pull open a rosebud. Live as you like best, and your character will form itself.
Henry James
Ease, Decision, Character, Conscience, Experience, Growth
Henry James’s Quotes On Topics
Peril | Reason | Narrative Cloud | Desire | Friendly Burdens | Interaction | Heartfelt Moment | Ideas | Reality Shaping | Urban Indifference | Complex Emotions | Wandering | Decisions | Refusal | Healing | Subordination | Progress | Discovery | Life Utilization | Tables | More
More Henry James Quotes
“I ought to tell you I’m probably your cousin.” Henry James
Family, Humor, Identity, Confusion, Connection, Self-discovery
Henry James Family, Humor, Identity, Confusion, Connection, Self-discovery“Try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost!” Henry James
Awareness, Learning, Growth, Experience, Attention, Value
Henry James Awareness, Learning, Growth, Experience, Attention, Value“He envied Miss Barrace at any rate her power of not being. She seemed, with little cries and protests and quick recognitions, movements like the darts of some fine high-feathered free-pecking bird, to stand before life as before some full shop-window.” Henry James
Effortlessness, Detached Elegance, Freedom, Presence, Disconnection
Henry James Effortlessness, Detached Elegance, Freedom, Presence, Disconnection“The critical sense is so far from frequent that it is absolutely rare, and the possession of the cluster of qualities that minister to it is one of the highest distinctions... In this light one sees the critic as the real helper of the artist, a torchbearing outrider, the interpreter, the brother... Just in proportion as he is sentient and restless, just in proportion as he reacts and reciprocates and penetrates, is the critic a valuable instrument.” Henry James
Criticism, Rarity, Distinction, Perception, Interpretation, Collaboration
Henry James Criticism, Rarity, Distinction, Perception, Interpretation, Collaboration“She had taken his measure; he was made incorrigibly to try, irredeemably to fail – to be, in short, eternally defeated and eternally unaware. He wouldn’t rage he couldn’t, for the citadel might, in that case, have been carried by his assault; he would only spend his life in walking round and round it, asking everyone he met how in the name of goodness one did get in.” Henry James
Failure, Perseverance, Struggle, Introspection, Determination, Self-awareness
Henry James Failure, Perseverance, Struggle, Introspection, Determination, Self-awareness“He is outside of everything, and an alien everywhere. He is an aesthetic solitary. His beautiful, light imagination is the wing that on the autumn evening just brushes the dusky window.” Henry James
Solitude, Creativity, Aesthetics, Imagination, Reflection, Experience
Henry James Solitude, Creativity, Aesthetics, Imagination, Reflection, Experience“I was on the point of saying that a happy chance had favoured him, but it occurs to me that one is under no obligation to call chances by flattering epithets when they have been waited for so long.” Henry James
Patience Rewarded, Unflattering Chance, Chance, Rewarded, Patience, Unflattering
Henry James Patience Rewarded, Unflattering Chance, Chance, Rewarded, Patience, Unflattering“His secretary of many years’ standing, Theodora Bosanquet, was struck by this persistent aspect of the Jamesian sensibility: ‘When he walked out of the refuge of his study and into the world and looked about him, he saw a place of torment, where creatures of prey perpetually thrust their claws into the quivering flesh of the doomed, defenceless children of light.” Henry James
Jamesian Vision, Emotional Torment, Narrative Insight, Sensibility, Reflection, Perspective
Henry James Jamesian Vision, Emotional Torment, Narrative Insight, Sensibility, Reflection, Perspective“What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character?” Henry James
Human Nature, Cause And Effect, Character Definition, Determination, Personal Growth, Life Incidents
Henry James Human Nature, Cause And Effect, Character Definition, Determination, Personal Growth, Life Incidents“I don’t want everyone to like me; I should think less of myself if some people did.” Henry James
Self-Acceptance, Individuality, Confidence, Authenticity, Rejection, Integrity
Henry James Self-Acceptance, Individuality, Confidence, Authenticity, Rejection, Integrity“She had her own way of doing all that she did, and this is the simplest description of a character which, although by no means without liberal motions, rarely succeeded in giving an impression of suavity.” Henry James
Personal Manner, Character Insight, Emotional Suavity, Approach, Manner, Success
Henry James Personal Manner, Character Insight, Emotional Suavity, Approach, Manner, Success“Every good story is of course both a picture and an idea, and the more they are interfused the better.” Henry James
Storytelling, Reflection, Narrative, Picture, Idea, Creativity
Henry James Storytelling, Reflection, Narrative, Picture, Idea, Creativity“The days, whether lapsing or lingering, were a stiff reality; the suppression of anxiety was a thin idea; the taste of life itself was the taste of suspense.” Henry James
Lingering Days, Stiff Reality, Life Suspense, Anxiety Suppression, Personal Tension, Daily Struggles
Henry James Lingering Days, Stiff Reality, Life Suspense, Anxiety Suppression, Personal Tension, Daily Struggles“How can I retrace to-day the strange steps of my obsession?” Henry James
Obsession, Steps, Retracing, Strangeness, Memory, Journey
Henry James Obsession, Steps, Retracing, Strangeness, Memory, Journey“If one is strong, one loves the more strongly.” Henry James
Strength In Love, Emotional Resilience, Passion, Strength, Love, Emotion
Henry James Strength In Love, Emotional Resilience, Passion, Strength, Love, Emotion“It’s you who draw me out. I exist in you. Not in others.” Henry James
Mutual Influence, Connection, Identity, Presence, Authenticity, Companionship
Henry James Mutual Influence, Connection, Identity, Presence, Authenticity, Companionship“I have heard many a young unmarried lady exclaim with a bold sweep of conception, “Ah me! I wish I were a widow!” Mrs. Keith was precisely the widow that young unmarried ladies wish to be. With her diamonds in her dressing-case and her carriage in her stable, and without a feather’s weight of encumbrance, she offered a finished example of satisfied ambition.” Henry James
Widowhood Perspective, Satisfied Ambition, Young Ladies, Idealized Life, Unmarried Views, Bold Conceptions
Henry James Widowhood Perspective, Satisfied Ambition, Young Ladies, Idealized Life, Unmarried Views, Bold Conceptions“To believe in a child is to believe in the Future.” Henry James
Belief, Future, Child, Hope, Trust, Growth
Henry James Belief, Future, Child, Hope, Trust, Growth