Misfortune had made Lily supple instead of hardening her, and a pliable substance is less easy to break than a stiff one.

Quote by Edith Wharton

Topics: Edith Wharton Quotes

The worst of doing one's duty was that it apparently unfitted one for doing anything...

The worst of doing one's duty was that it apparently unfitted one for doing anything...

If only we'd stop trying to be happy we'd have a pretty good time.

If only we'd stop trying to be happy we'd have a pretty good time.

Life is the only real counselor; wisdom unfiltered through personal experience does not become a...

Life is the only real counselor; wisdom unfiltered through personal experience does not become a...

I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in...

I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in...

Old age, calm, expanded, broad with the haughty breadth of the universe, old age flowing...

Old age, calm, expanded, broad with the haughty breadth of the universe, old age flowing...

Silence may be as variously shaded as speech.

Silence may be as variously shaded as speech.

There are moments when a man's imagination so easily subdued to what it lives in,...

There are moments when a man's imagination so easily subdued to what it lives in,...

True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.

True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.

My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet.

My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet.

Old age, calm, expanded, broad with the haughty breadth of the universe, old age flowing...

Old age, calm, expanded, broad with the haughty breadth of the universe, old age flowing...

In any really good subject, one has only to probe deep enough to come to...

In any really good subject, one has only to probe deep enough to come to...

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that...

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that...

Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into...

Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into...

The American landscape has no foreground and the American mind no background.

The American landscape has no foreground and the American mind no background.

They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in...

They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in...

I have never known a novel that was good enough to be good in spite...

I have never known a novel that was good enough to be good in spite...

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that...

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that...

After all, one knows one's weak points so well, that it's rather bewildering to have...

After all, one knows one's weak points so well, that it's rather bewildering to have...

There are moments when a man's imagination, so easily subdued to what it lives in,...

There are moments when a man's imagination, so easily subdued to what it lives in,...

Beware of monotony; it's the mother of all the deadly sins.

Beware of monotony; it's the mother of all the deadly sins.