Welcome to an exploration of thought and language like no other – a journey through 50 profound Ernest Hemingway quotes. These aren't just run-of-the-mill utterances, no; they're words that breathe life, wisdom, and a raw sense of reality, echoing the mind of one of the 20th century's most influential authors. Hemingway, renowned for his laconic style, always had a knack for conveying great depth with a few carefully chosen words. If you're a lover of literature, an aspiring writer, or someone seeking timeless wisdom, you're in the right place to unearth the gems of Hemingway's legacy.
Ernest Hemingway, a man who wrote as vigorously as he lived, was never one to shy away from sharing his wisdom, experiences, or insights. His words, much like his novels, encapsulated the essence of the human condition in a world often unforgiving. One particular story that echoes Hemingway's insightful nature was when he once won a bet at a bar by crafting a six-word story – “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” – proving that brevity can indeed carry a profound message. As we immerse ourselves in these Ernest Hemingway quotes, we'll glimpse the man behind the myth – his struggles, triumphs, and his grasp of life and all its complexities. So, buckle up for a literary ride as we dive into the world of profound Ernest Hemingway quotes.
The Essence of Life
1. “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
2. “Courage is grace under pressure.”
3. “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
4. “Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.”
5. “There is no friend as loyal as a book.”
6. “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
7. “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”
8. “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”
9. “I drink to make other people more interesting.”
10. “I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?”
Related Article: 50 Nautical Herman Melville Quotes
Love and Relationships
- “The only thing that could spoil a day was people. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself.”
- “I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.”
- “Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.”
- “The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.”
- “When you love you wish to do things for. You wish to sacrifice for. You wish to serve.”
- “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
- “You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.”
- “In order to write about life first, you must live it.”
- “An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.”
- “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
On Writing and Creativity
- “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
- “Prose is architecture, not interior decoration.”
- “The first draft of anything is shit.”
- “A writer should write what he has to say and not speak it.”
- “All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened.”
- “My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.”
- “All our words from loose using have lost their edge.”
- “Once writing has become your major vice and greatest pleasure only death can stop it.”
- “You must be prepared to work always without applause.”
- “The writer's job is not to judge, but to seek to understand.”
Related Article: 50 Dark Nathaniel Hawthorne Quotes
Battles and Defeats
- “But life isn't hard to manage when you've nothing to lose.”
- “Death is like an old whore in a bar–I'll buy her a drink but I won't go upstairs with her.”
- “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
- “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
- “Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”
- “It's none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.”
- “Never confuse movement with action.”
- “Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.”
- “The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
- “Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”
Reflections and Observations
- “It's silly not to hope. It's a sin he thought.”
- “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
- “In modern war… you will die like a dog for no good reason.”
- “I know now that there is no one thing that is true – it is all true.”
- “There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it's like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.”
- “I still need more healthy rest in order to work at my best. My health is the main capital I have and I want to administer it intelligently.”
- “All things truly wicked start from innocence.”
- “You are so brave and quiet I forget you are suffering.”
- “What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.”
- “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”
Related Article: 50 Southern William Faulkner Quotes
