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Home  »  Dictionary of Quotations  »  Washington Irving

James Wood, comp. Dictionary of Quotations. 1899.

Washington Irving

A woman’s whole life is a history of the affections.

Every desire bears its death in its very gratification.

Free-livers on a small scale, who are prodigal within the compass of a guinea.

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune, but great minds rise above it.

Rising genius always shoots forth its rays from among clouds and vapours, but these will gradually roll away and disappear as it ascends to its steady and meridian lustre.

The almighty dollar.

The natural effect of sorrow over the dead is to refine and elevate the mind.

There is a certain artificial polish, a commonplace vivacity, acquired by perpetually mingling in the beau monde, which, in the commerce of the world, supplies the place of natural suavity and good-humour; but it is purchased at the expense of all original and sterling traits of character.

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.

There is an emanation from the heart in genuine hospitality which cannot be described but is immediately felt, and puts the stranger at once at his ease.