Washington Irving Quotes

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.

Great minds have purposes, others have wishes.

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.

A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use.

Laughter is the antidote to sorrow and the best way to approach life’s ups and downs.

Silence is the best reply to a fool.

The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man.

There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse!

There is a healthful hardiness about real dignity that never dreads contact and communion with others, however humble.

To seek the applause of the multitude is ambition; to love truth for truth’s sake is philosophy.

The love of knowledge is a kind of madness.

It is not poverty so much as pretense that harasses a ruined man.

A sharp tongue is the only tool that grows keener with constant use.

There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse!

It is not poverty so much as pretense that harasses a ruined man.

Great minds have purposes; others have wishes.

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.

A mother is the truest friend we have.

It is the constant fault and inseparable evil of ambition, that it never looks behind it.

There is a healthful hardiness about real dignity that never dreads contact and communion with others, however humble.

There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse.

To seek the applause of the multitude is ambition; to love the truth for truth’s sake is philoso-phy.

The love of knowledge is a kind of madness.

No man can be completely happy without a little liberal madness.

Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both ‘yes’ and ‘no’.

In all assemblies, though you heap abuses upon him, his laughter decides whom you are in jest or in earnest.

A sage possesses what he learns to research, while a fool researches what he possesses to learn.

Sleep is a wakeful puppet of death, created by sorcery.

He passes away like a shadow and does not stay.

An old satyr, like an old goat, smells stinky.

A dislike without a reason is not wise.

A rolling stone collects mushy stuff.

In the courtroom of experience, there are no paragraphs and few complete sentences.

The only consistency in life is its inconsistency.

Fearlessness is contagious. You become fearless when you see someone else being fearless.

Some minds are like concrete—thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.

You can’t change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying over the future.

All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.

Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

Believe you can and you’re halfway there.

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.

The best way to predict your future is to create it.

Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.

The only way to do great work is to love what you do.

Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.