Henry James Quotes

An enthusiasm for Poe is the mark of a decidedly primitive stage of reflection. Baudelaire thought him a profound philosopher... Poe was much the greater charlatan of the two, as well as the greater genius.

There is, I think, no more nutritive or suggestive truth... than that of the perfect dependence of the "moral" sense of a work of art on the amount of felt life concerned in producing it. The question comes back thus, obviously, to the kind and the degree of the artist's prime sensibility, which is the soil out of which his subject springs.

I intend to judge things for myself; to judge wrongly, I think, is more honorable than not to judge at all.

The more you know the more unhappy you are

There is no generosity without sacrifice.

You young men have too many jokes. When there are no jokes you've nothing left.

- Do you know I love you ?
- I'm sure I don't care whether you do or not !

Live all you can; it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what you do in particular so long as you have your life. If you haven't had that what have you had? … I haven’t done so enough before — and now I'm too old; too old at any rate for what I see. … What one loses one loses; make no mistake about that. … Still, we have the illusion of freedom; therefore don't be, like me, without the memory of that illusion. I was either, at the right time, too stupid or too intelligent to have it; I don’t quite know which. Of course at present I'm a case of reaction against the mistake. … Do what you like so long as you don't make my mistake. For it was a mistake. Live!

The historian, essentially, wants more documents than he can really use; the dramatist only wants more liberties than he can really take.

The whole of anything, is never told.

We are divided of course between liking to feel the past strange and liking to feel it familiar.

I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin.

She often wondered indeed if she ever had been, or ever could be, intimate with anyone.

"Is that another sort of joke?" asked the old man. "You've no excuse for being bored anywhere. When I was your age I had never heard of such a thing."

Her face was not young, but it was simple; it was not fresh, but it was mild. She had large eyes which were not bright, and a great deal of hair which was not 'dressed,' and long fine hands which were — possibly — not clean.