John Steinbeck Quotes

'Change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like a stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass.'

“I guess I'm trying to say, Grab anything that goes by. It may not come around again.”

“And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.”

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”

“And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about.”

“I was born lost and take no pleasure in being found.”

And don’t worry about losing. If it is right, it happens—The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.

...if you are in love—that’s a good thing—that’s about the best thing that can happen to anyone. Don’t let anyone make it small or light to you.

In every bit of honest writing in the world there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love.

Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.

It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.

I have always lived violently, drunk hugely, eaten too much or not at all, slept around the clock or missed two nights of sleeping, worked too hard and too long in glory, or slobbed for a time in utter laziness. I’ve lifted, pulled, chopped, climbed, made love with joy and taken my hangovers as a consequence, not as a punishment.

As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment. Then gradually time awakened again and moved sluggishly on

A man so painfully in love is capable of self-torture beyond belief.

A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.

A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.

I hate cameras. They are so much more sure than I am about everything.

Money does not change the sickness, only the symptoms.

I wonder how many people I’ve looked at all my life and never seen.

Everyone gave advice but no one helped.