Washington Irving Quotes

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Washington Irving

Profession : Writer

Birth : April 3, 1783

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.

Washington Irving

Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.

Washington Irving

An inexhaustible good nature is one of the most precious gifts of heaven, spreading itself like oil over the troubled sea of thought, and keeping the mind smooth and equable in the roughest weather.

Washington Irving

Marriage is the torment of one, the felicity of two, the strife and enmity of three.

Washington Irving

A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands. But a mother's love endures through all.

Washington Irving

Honest good humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting, and there is no jovial companionship equal to that where the jokes are rather small and laughter abundant.

Washington Irving

He is the true enchanter, whose spell operates, not upon the senses, but upon the imagination and the heart.

Washington Irving

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them.

Washington Irving

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

Washington Irving

There is never jealousy where there is not strong regard.

Washington Irving

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.

Washington Irving

Great minds have purposes; others have wishes.

Washington Irving

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

Washington Irving

There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations.

Washington Irving

The sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. Every other wound we seek to heal - every other affliction to forget: but this wound we consider it a duty to keep open - this affliction we cherish and brood over in solitude.

Washington Irving

One of the greatest and simplest tools for learning more and growing is doing more.

Washington Irving

Some minds seem almost to create themselves, springing up under every disadvantage and working their solitary but irresistible way through a thousand obstacles.

Washington Irving

Those men are most apt to be obsequious and conciliating abroad, who are under the discipline of shrews at home.

Washington Irving

It is not poverty so much as pretense that harasses a ruined man - the struggle between a proud mind and an empty purse - the keeping up of a hollow show that must soon come to an end.

Washington Irving

The tongue is the only tool that gets sharper with use.

Washington Irving