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George Gissing QUOTES

George Gissing QUOTES

1 " Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable? One symbol, indeed, has obscured all others--the minted round of metal. And one may safely say that, of all the ages since a coin first became the symbol of power, ours is that in which it yields to the majority of its possessors the poorest return in heart's contentment. "

― George Gissing , The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft

2 " Money is time. With money I buy for cheerful use the hours which otherwise would not in any sense be mine; nay, which would make me their miserable bondsman. "

― George Gissing

3 " It is the mind which creates the world around us, and even though we stand side by side in the same meadow, my eyes will never see what is beheld by yours, my heart will never stir to the emotions with which yours is touched. "

― George Gissing

4 " I know every book of mine by its smell, and I have but to put my nose between the pages to be reminded of all sorts of things. "

― George Gissing

5 " He liked to feel the soft little hand clasping his own fingers, so big and coarse in comparison, and happily so strong. For in the child's weakness he felt an infinite pathos; a being so entirely helpless, so utterly dependent upon others' love, standing there amid a world of cruelties, smiling and trustful. "

― George Gissing

6 " But just understand the difference between a man like Reardon and a man like me. He is the old type of unpractical artist; I am the literary man of 1882. He won't make concessions, or rather, he can't make them; he can't supply the market. I--well, you may say that at present, I do nothing; but that's a great mistake, I am learning my business. Literature nowadays is a trade. Putting aside men of genius, who may succeed by mere cosmic force, your successful man of letters is your skilful tradesman. He thinks first and foremost of the markets; when one kind of goods begins to go off slackly, he is ready with something new and appetising. He knows perfectly all the possible sources of income. Whatever he has to sell, he'll get payment for it from all sorts of various quarters; none of your unpractical selling for a lump sum to a middleman who will make six distinct profits. "

― George Gissing , New Grub Street

7 " I don't advise. You mutn't give any weight to what I say, except in so far as your own judgment approves it. "

― George Gissing

8 " It is familiarity with life that makes time speed quickly. When every day is a step in the unknown, as for children, the days are long with gathering of experience . . . "

― George Gissing

9 " Honest Winter, snow-clad, and with the frosted beard, I can welcome not uncordially; But that long deferment of the calendar's promise, that weeping gloom of March and April, that bitter blast outraging the honour of May how often has it robbed me of heart and hope? "

― George Gissing

10 " Well, I wasn't going to abuse him. I was only going to ask: Is there any quality which distinguishes his work from that of twenty struggling writers one could name? Of course not. He's a clever, prolific man; so are they. But he began with money and friends; he came from Oxford into the thick of advertised people; his name was mentioned in print six times a week before he had written a dozen articles. This kind of thing will become the rule. Men won't succeed in literature that they may get into society, but will get into society that they may succeed in literature. "

― George Gissing , New Grub Street

11 " A womanly occupation means, practically, an occupation that a man disdains. "

― George Gissing , The Odd Women

12 " Persistent prophecy is a familiar way of assuring the event. "

― George Gissing

13 " Life, I fancy, would very often be insupportable, but for the luxury of self-compassion. "

― George Gissing

14 " —Amy said that would be an imprudent expense; but as soon as he had got a good price for a book. Will not the publishers be kind? If they knew what happiness lurked in embryo within their foolish cheque-books! "

― George Gissing , New Grub Street

15 " That is one of the bitter curses of poverty; it leaves no right to be
generous. "

― George Gissing

16 " For, work as you will, there is no chance of a new and better world until the old be utterly destroyed. "

― George Gissing , The Nether World

17 " Flippancy, the most hopeless form of intellectual vice. "

― George Gissing

18 " Like most men of his kind, he viewed religion as a precious and powerful instrument for directing the female conscience. "

― George Gissing , The Odd Women

19 " He inspired no distrust; his good nature seemed all-pervading; he had the air of one who lavishes disinterested counsel, and ever so little exalts himself with his facile exuberance of speech. The Whirlpool "

― George Gissing

20 " Love revives the barbarian; - it wouldn't mean much, if it didn't. In this one respect, I suppose no man, however civilized, would wish the woman he loves to be his equal. Marriage by capture can't quite be done away with. You say you have not the least love for me; if you had, should I like you to confess it instantly? A man must plead and woo; but there are different ways. I can't kneel before you and exclaim about my miserable unworthiness - for I am not unworthy of you. I shall never call you queen and goddess - unless in delirium, and I think I should soon weary of a woman who put her head under my foot. Just because I am stronger than you, and have stronger passions, I take that advantage, - try to overcome, as I may, the womanly resistance which is one of your charms. "

― George Gissing , The Odd Women