John Steinbeck quotes - page 3

For it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more. And this is said in disparagement, whereas it is one of the greatest talents the species has and one that has made it superior to animals that are satisfied with what they have. (John Steinbeck)
Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork. View quote
John Steinbeck
I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature. View quote
John Steinbeck
His ear heard more than what was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought. View quote
John Steinbeck
A plan is a real thing, and things projected are experienced. A plan once made and visualized becomes reality along with other realities-never to be destroyed but easily to be attacked. View quote
John Steinbeck
There used to be a thing or a commodity we put great store by. It was called the People. Find out where the People have gone. I don't mean the square-eyed toothpaste-and-hair-dye people or the new-car-or-bust people, or the success-and-coronary people. Maybe they never existed, but if there ever were the People, that's the commodity the Declaration was talking about, and Mr. Lincoln. View quote
John Steinbeck
A book is like a man clever and dull, brave and cowardly, beautiful and ugly. For every flowering thought there will be a page like a wet and mangy mongrel, and for every looping flight a tap on the wing and a reminder that wax cannot hold the feathers firm too near the sun. View quote
John Steinbeck
One man was so mad at me that he ended his letter Beware. You will never get out of this world alive. View quote
John Steinbeck
Literature is as old as speech. It grew out of human need for it, and it has not changed except to become more needed. View quote
John Steinbeck
Maybe-- maybe love makes you suspicious and doubting. Is it true that when you love a woman you are never sure-- never sure of her because you aren't sure of yourself? View quote
John Steinbeck
Death was a friend, and sleep was Death's brother. (John Steinbeck)
Man has a choice and it's a choice that makes him a man. View quote
John Steinbeck
When you're a child you're the center of everything. Everything happens for you. Other people? They're only ghosts furnished for you to talk to. View quote
John Steinbeck
The bank - the monster has to have profits all the time. It can't wait. It'll die. No, taxes go on. When the monster stops growing, it dies. It can't stay one size. View quote
John Steinbeck
It was deeply a part of Lee's kindness and understanding that man's right to kill himself is inviolable, but sometimes a friend can make it unnecessary. View quote
John Steinbeck
But think of the glory of the choice! That makes a man a man. A cat has no choice, a bee must make honey. There's no godliness there. View quote
John Steinbeck
There's an awful lot of inactive kindness which is nothing but laziness, not wanting any trouble, confusion, or effort. View quote
John Steinbeck
The writer is delegated to declare and to celebrate man's proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit-for gallantry in defeat, for courage, compassion and love. In the endless war against weakness and despair, these are the bright rally flags of hope and of emulation. I hold that a writer who does not believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature. View quote
John Steinbeck
It is odd how a man believes he can think better in a special place. I have such a place, have always had it, but I know it isn't thinking I do there, but feeling and experiencing and remembering. It's a safety place - everyone must have one, although I have never heard of a man tell of it. View quote
John Steinbeck
Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. [Opening sentence.]. View quote
John Steinbeck
No one knows how greatness comes to a man. It may lie in his blackness, sleeping, or it may lance into him like those driven fiery particles from outer space. These things, however, are known about greatness: need gives it life and puts it in action; it never comes without pain; it leaves a man changed, chastened, and exalted at the same time--he can never return to simplicity. (John Steinbeck)
The free exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. View quote
John Steinbeck
All great and precious things are lonely. View quote
John Steinbeck
I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession. View quote
John Steinbeck
It would be absurd if we did not understand both angels and devils, since we invented them. View quote
John Steinbeck