Authors — Quotes

Edith Wharton Quotes: 11

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that receives it.
If only we'd stop trying to be happy, we could have a pretty good time.
Each time you happen to me all over again.
The Age of Innocence
There is one friend in the life of each of us who seems not a separate person, however dear and beloved, but an expansion, an interpretation, of one's self, the very meaning of one's soul.
Do you remember what you said to me once? That you could help me only by loving me? Well-you did love me for a moment; and it helped me. It has always helped me.
The House of Mirth
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
To know when to be generous and when firm—that is wisdom.
Don't you ever mind,"she asked suddenly, "not being rich enough to buy all the books you want?
The House of Mirth
Another unsettling element in modern art is that common symptom of immaturity, the dread of doing what has been done before.
Her failure was a useful preliminary to success.
The Custom of the Country
There are lots of ways of being miserable, but there’s only one way of being comfortable, and that is to stop running round after happiness. If you make up your mind not to be happy there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a fairly good time.
Ethan Frome and Other Short Fiction