The historian, essentially, wants more documents than he can really use; the dramatist only wants more liberties than he can really take.
Henry James
Historical Insight, Creative Liberties, Documents, Drama, Insight, Liberty
Henry James’s Quotes On Topics
Garden Obsession | Imaginative Gallop | Portrayal | Haste | Improvement | National | Behavior | Hopes And Ambitions | Reputation | Science | Depression | Life Constraints | Mistake | Alone | Writing | Inner Mornings | Lifelong Journey | Possibilities | Questions | Civic Duty | More
More Henry James Quotes
“God’s creature is one. He makes man, not men. His true creature is unitary and infinite, revealing himself, indeed, in every finite form, but compromised by none.” Henry James
Divine Unity, Infinite Creation, God’s Essence, Spiritual Truth, Human Oneness, Eternal Forms
Henry James Divine Unity, Infinite Creation, God’s Essence, Spiritual Truth, Human Oneness, Eternal Forms“I never know what I mean in my telegrams – especially those I send from America.” Henry James
Communication, Confusion, Expression, Miscommunication, Humor, Clarity
Henry James Communication, Confusion, Expression, Miscommunication, Humor, Clarity“When I am wicked I am in high spirits.” Henry James
Playful Wickedness, High Spirits, Wickedness, Playful, Spirits, High
Henry James Playful Wickedness, High Spirits, Wickedness, Playful, Spirits, High“The secret of what passed between him and the strange girl who.” Henry James
Unspoken Secrets, Mysterious Connection, Secret, Girl, Connection, Mysterious
Henry James Unspoken Secrets, Mysterious Connection, Secret, Girl, Connection, Mysterious“The time-honored bread-sauce of the happy ending.” Henry James
Predictability, Tradition, Conclusion, Satisfaction, Simplicity, Narrative
Henry James Predictability, Tradition, Conclusion, Satisfaction, Simplicity, Narrative“Art does not lie in copying nature.- Nature furnishes the material by means of which is to express a beauty still unexpressed in nature.-The artist beholds in nature more than she herself is conscious of.” Henry James
Expression, Material, Artist, Beauty, Nature, Unexpressed
Henry James Expression, Material, Artist, Beauty, Nature, Unexpressed“If the artist is necessarily sensitive, does that sensitiveness form in its essence a state constantly liable to shade off into the morbid? Does this liability, moreover, increase in proportion as the effort is great and the ambition intense?” Henry James
Artistic Sensitivity, Creative Challenges, Ambition Impact, Emotional Depth, Morbid Tendencies, Artistic Effort
Henry James Artistic Sensitivity, Creative Challenges, Ambition Impact, Emotional Depth, Morbid Tendencies, Artistic Effort“He’s the victim of a critical age; he has ceased to believe in himself and he doesn’t know what to believe in.” Henry James
Critical Age, Lost Belief, Self Doubt, Modern Struggle, Personal Crisis, Faith Uncertainty
Henry James Critical Age, Lost Belief, Self Doubt, Modern Struggle, Personal Crisis, Faith Uncertainty“What young man had ever paraded about that way, without a reason, a maiden in her flower?” Henry James
Youthful Parade, Emotional Clarity, Passion, Youth, Clarity, Passion
Henry James Youthful Parade, Emotional Clarity, Passion, Youth, Clarity, Passion“You’re like a picture; you ought to be enclosed in a gilt frame and stand against the wall.” Henry James
Portrayal, Confinement, Appearance, Isolation, Beauty, Elegance
Henry James Portrayal, Confinement, Appearance, Isolation, Beauty, Elegance“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“It doesn’t matter what you do in particular, so long as you have had your life.” Henry James
Meaningful Living, Purpose, Fulfillment, Experience, Authenticity, Existence
Henry James Meaningful Living, Purpose, Fulfillment, Experience, Authenticity, Existence“A solitary maple on a woodside flames in single scarlet, recalls nothing so much as the daughter of a noble house dressed for a fancy ball, with the whole family gathered around to admire her before she goes.” Henry James
Nature, Beauty, Memory, Nostalgia, Nobility, Solitude
Henry James Nature, Beauty, Memory, Nostalgia, Nobility, Solitude“He fairly glittered in the gloom.” Henry James
Glimmer, Illumination, Brilliance, Darkness, Radiance, Radiant
Henry James Glimmer, Illumination, Brilliance, Darkness, Radiance, Radiant“I’ve always expected the worst, and it’s always worse than I expected.” Henry James
Anticipation, Pessimism, Inevitability, Experience, Resilience, Reality
Henry James Anticipation, Pessimism, Inevitability, Experience, Resilience, Reality“The flash of this knowledge – for it was knowledge in the midst of dread – produced in me the most extraordinary effect.” Henry James
Knowledge, Dread, Insight, Emotions, Transformation, Realization
Henry James Knowledge, Dread, Insight, Emotions, Transformation, Realization“His kiss was like white lightning, a flash that spread, and spread again, and stayed.” Henry James
Lightning Kiss, Emotional Flash, Romantic Connection, Passionate Moment, Love Impact, Lasting Spark
Henry James Lightning Kiss, Emotional Flash, Romantic Connection, Passionate Moment, Love Impact, Lasting Spark“Absence was a sign that when it might be a question of gratifying him she had grown used to spare no pains, and I fancied her rummaging in some.” Henry James
Painful Absence, Sacrificial Effort, Absence, Effort, Sacrificial, Painful
Henry James Painful Absence, Sacrificial Effort, Absence, Effort, Sacrificial, Painful“And the figure of the income he had arrived at had never been high enough to look any one in the face.” Henry James
Ambition, Financials, Reality, Success, Confidence, Perception
Henry James Ambition, Financials, Reality, Success, Confidence, Perception“The main object of the novel is to represent life. The success of a work of art, to my mind, may be measured by the degree to which it produces a certain illusion; that illusion makes it appear to us for the time that we have lived another life - that we have had a miraculous enlargement of experience.” Henry James
Art, Illusion, Reflection, Narrative, Life, Experience
Henry James Art, Illusion, Reflection, Narrative, Life, Experience