William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells
William Dean Howellswas an American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright. Nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters", he was particularly known for his tenure as editor of The Atlantic Monthly as well as his own prolific writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day", and the novels The Rise of Silas Lapham and A Traveler from Altruria...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth1 March 1837
CountryUnited States of America
truth greatness long
Do not trouble yourselves about standards or ideals; but try to be faithful and natural: remember that there is no greatness, no beauty, which does not come from truth to your own knowledge of things; and keep on working, even if your work is not long remembered.
wise winning men
The conqueror is regarded with awe; the wise man commands our respect; but it is only the benevolent man that wins our affection.
book doe reason
The book which you read from a sense of duty, or because for any reason you must, does not commonly make friends with you.
country brother thinking
It's a curious thing, this thing we call civilization...we think it is an affair of epochs, and nations. It's really an affair of individuals. One brother will be civilized and the other a barbarian...All civilization comes through literature now, especially in our country. A Greek got his civilization by talking and looking, and in some measure a Parisian may still do it. But we, who live remote from history and monuments, we must read or we must barbarise.
europe america trying
In Europe life is histrionic and dramatized, and in America, except when it is trying to be European, it is direct and sincere.
fall good-luck luck
How is it the great pieces of good luck fall to us?
hate past history
I wonder why we hate the past so.
space live-in-the-moment littles
We are creatures of the moment; we live from one little space to another, and only one interest at a time fills these.
found primitive
Primitive societies without religion have never been found.
venice
Is it worth while to observe that there are no Venetian blinds in Venice?
sister heart twins
Wisdom and goodness are twin-born, one heart must hold both sisters, never seen apart.
tragedy want happy-endings
What the American public wants in the theater is a tragedy with a happy ending.
mom mother men
A man never sees all that his mother has been to him until it's too late to let her know that he sees it.
birthday time born
You'll find as you grow older that you weren't born such a great while ago after all. The time shortens up.