Now that I am sixty, I see why the idea of elder wisdom has passed from currency.

Quote by John Updike

Topics: John Updike Quotes

From infancy on, we are all spies; the shame is not this but that the...

From infancy on, we are all spies; the shame is not this but that the...

The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions,...

The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions,...

I secretly understood: the primitive appeal of the hearth. Television is-its irresistible charm-a fire.

I secretly understood: the primitive appeal of the hearth. Television is-its irresistible charm-a fire.

There is no pleasing New Englanders, my dear, their soil is all rocks and their...

There is no pleasing New Englanders, my dear, their soil is all rocks and their...

But for a few phrases from his letters and an odd line or two of...

But for a few phrases from his letters and an odd line or two of...

Sex is like money; only too much is enough.

Sex is like money; only too much is enough.

Writers may be disreputable, incorrigible, early to decay or late to bloom but they dare...

Writers may be disreputable, incorrigible, early to decay or late to bloom but they dare...

School is where you go between when your parents can't take you, and industry can't...

School is where you go between when your parents can't take you, and industry can't...

Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity. Any activity becomes creative when the...

Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity. Any activity becomes creative when the...

Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe. We cannot imagine a Second...

Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe. We cannot imagine a Second...

The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions,...

The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions,...

Truth should not be forced; it should simply manifest itself, like a woman who has...

Truth should not be forced; it should simply manifest itself, like a woman who has...

There's a crystallization that goes on in a poem which the young man can bring...

There's a crystallization that goes on in a poem which the young man can bring...

Existence itself does not feel horrible; it feels like an ecstasy, rather, which we have...

Existence itself does not feel horrible; it feels like an ecstasy, rather, which we have...

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would...

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would...

To say that war is madness is like saying that sex is madness: true enough,...

To say that war is madness is like saying that sex is madness: true enough,...

For male and female alike, the bodies of the other sex are messages signaling what...

For male and female alike, the bodies of the other sex are messages signaling what...

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself...

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself...

To be President of the United States, sir, is to act as advocate for a...

To be President of the United States, sir, is to act as advocate for a...

Art is like baby shoes. When you coat them with gold, they can no longer...

Art is like baby shoes. When you coat them with gold, they can no longer...