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Graham Greene Quotes

Powerful Graham Greene for Daily Growth

About Graham Greene

Graham Green (October 2, 1904 – April 3, 1991) was an English novelist, playwright, short-story writer, screenwriter, and critic who produced a large body of work during the 20th century. Born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, Greene's father was a schoolmaster, and his mother was a homemaker. His early years were shaped by frequent moves due to his father's job transfers, which instilled in him a deep sense of rootlessness that often appears in his works. Greene attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied theology but ultimately decided against the priesthood. Instead, he pursued a career as a writer, influenced by the literary giants of the time, such as Fyodor Dostoevsky and James Joyce. In 1926, his first novel, "The Man Within," was published anonymously, but it wasn't until "Stamboul Train" (1932), retitled "Orient Express" for the American edition, that he gained recognition. Greene is best known for his richly textured and morally complex novels set in the exotic locales of his extensive travels. His works often explore themes of moral ambiguity, political intrigue, and spiritual disillusionment. Some of his most celebrated works include "Brighton Rock" (1938), "The Power and the Glory" (1940), "The Quiet American" (1955), and "Our Man in Havana" (1958). Greene was also a prolific screenwriter, adapting many of his own works for film and penning scripts for other projects. His adaptations include "The Third Man" (1949) and "The Quiet American" (1958). Throughout his life, Greene was a committed and controversial figure, both in his personal and professional relationships. He was married twice but had numerous affairs and liaisons, which often influenced his writing. Despite these complexities, he remains one of the most respected and widely read English authors of the 20th century.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"We have all a tale to tell, and we see in the faces of others much of our own story."

This quote suggests that each person carries their unique experiences, emotions, and stories within them. As we interact with others, we unconsciously recognize and reflect elements of their personal narratives in their facial expressions or demeanor because these aspects are reminiscent of our own life stories. Essentially, Graham Greene implies that the human face functions as a canvas upon which our collective experiences are projected. This understanding fosters empathy and encourages us to perceive others with compassion, as we recognize pieces of ourselves in them.

"Time is the longest distance between two places."

The quote by Graham Greene suggests that time, not physical distance, is the greatest separator or barrier between individuals, experiences, or events. It implies that while we can travel vast distances in a relatively short period, the passage of time - as years, decades, or even moments - creates an immense divide, shaping and defining our lives, relationships, and memories distinctly. This quote underscores the profound impact that time has on human experiences and connections, emphasizing its role as the ultimate separator in our lives.

"The only way of catching a train I ever discovered was to miss the train before."

This quote by Graham Greene suggests that one can achieve progress or success not through direct pursuit but rather by experiencing failure or setbacks first. Essentially, the idea is that true understanding and growth come from learning what doesn't work, allowing us to eventually catch the "train" of our goals when we try again with newfound knowledge and perspective. In other words, sometimes we must miss the train in order to learn how to catch it properly next time.

"To love without knowing how to love wounds the soul."

This quote by Graham Greene suggests that not understanding the art and complexity of love can lead to emotional harm or pain, as one may try to express affection in ways that are inappropriate or hurtful due to a lack of knowledge or skill. Essentially, it implies that loving without proper guidance, wisdom, or self-awareness can cause psychological injury, reflecting the depth and sensitivity of human emotions involved in romantic relationships.

"There are some things you can't share without ending up changing them."

This quote by Graham Greene suggests that certain intimate or personal aspects of our lives, when shared with others, may undergo transformations due to the influence of the receiver or the act of sharing itself. It implies that these shared experiences might lose some originality, authenticity, or unique qualities as they become intertwined with the perspectives and interpretations of the people we interact with. In other words, the very act of communication can alter the essence of our thoughts, feelings, and memories.

My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane.

- Graham Greene

Fountain, Fingers, Plane, Filling

A murderer is regarded by the conventional world as something almost monstrous, but a murderer to himself is only an ordinary man. It is only if the murderer is a good man that he can be regarded as monstrous.

- Graham Greene

Ordinary Man, Almost, Monstrous

The truth has never been of any real value to any human being - it is a symbol for mathematicians and philosophers to pursue. In human relations kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths.

- Graham Greene

Human Being, Been, Symbol, Real Value

Unhappiness in a child accumulates because he sees no end to the dark tunnel. The thirteen weeks of a term might just as well be thirteen years.

- Graham Greene

Might, Unhappiness, Weeks, Thirteen

There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.

- Graham Greene

Future, Door, Always, Opens

Innocence is like a dumb leper who has lost his bell, wandering the world, meaning no harm.

- Graham Greene

World, Innocence, His, Leper

Innocence always calls mutely for protection when we would be so much wiser to guard ourselves against it: innocence is like a dumb leper who has lost his bell, wandering the world, meaning no harm.

- Graham Greene

Innocence, Always, Harm, Leper

In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace - and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.

- Graham Greene

Love, Bloodshed, Had, Produced

The great advantage of being a writer is that you can spy on people. You're there, listening to every word, but part of you is observing. Everything is useful to a writer, you see - every scrap, even the longest and most boring of luncheon parties.

- Graham Greene

Listening, Longest, Spy

Point me out the happy man and I will point you out either egotism, selfishness, evil - or else an absolute ignorance.

- Graham Greene

Happy, Will, Point, Selfishness

Nobody thinks in terms of human beings. Governments don't, why should we? They talk about people and the proletariat; I talk about the suckers and the mugs. It's the same thing.

- Graham Greene

Same Thing, About, Mugs, Proletariat

Against the beautiful and the clever and the successful, one can wage a pitiless war, but not against the unattractive: then the millstone weighs on the breast.

- Graham Greene

War, Against, Weighs, Unattractive

Morality comes with the sad wisdom of age, when the sense of curiosity has withered.

- Graham Greene

Sad, Curiosity, Morality, Withered

In Switzerland they had brotherly love, five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock!

- Graham Greene

Love, Switzerland, Hundred, Hundred Years

God created a number of possibilities in case some of his prototypes failed - that is the meaning of evolution.

- Graham Greene

Possibilities, Some, Number, Meaning Of

The economy of a novelist is a little like that of a careful housewife who is unwilling to throw away anything that might perhaps serve its turn.

- Graham Greene

Away, Like, Might, Housewife

Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.

- Graham Greene

Madness, Therapy, Which, Manage

Media is just a word that has come to mean bad journalism.

- Graham Greene

Mean, Bad, Come, Journalism

Reality in our century is not something to be faced.

- Graham Greene

Reality, Century, Our, Faced

A movie is not a book. If the source material is a book, you cannot be too respectful of the book. All you owe to the book is the spirit.

- Graham Greene

Book, Spirit, Movie, Respectful

Sentimentality - that's what we call the sentiment we don't share.

- Graham Greene

Share, Call, Sentiment, Sentimentality

We are all of us resigned to death: it's life we aren't resigned to.

- Graham Greene

Life, Death, Us, Resigned

A petty reason perhaps why novelists more and more try to keep a distance from journalists is that novelists are trying to write the truth and journalists are trying to write fiction.

- Graham Greene

Reason, Distance, Novelists, Petty

If you have abandoned one faith, do not abandon all faith. There is always an alternative to the faith we lose. Or is it the same faith under another mask?

- Graham Greene

Lose, Always, Another, Mask

A solitary laugh is often a laugh of superiority.

- Graham Greene

Superiority, Solitary, Often, Laugh

Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.

- Graham Greene

Over, Ripples, Wider, Coastline

People talk about the courage of condemned men walking to the place of execution: sometimes it needs as much courage to walk with any kind of bearing towards another person's habitual misery.

- Graham Greene

Execution, Needs, Habitual, Condemned

Human nature is not black and white but black and grey.

- Graham Greene

Nature, Black, White, Human Nature

Champagne, if you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully.

- Graham Greene

Technology, Tell, Encourages, Champagne

It is impossible to go through life without trust: that is to be imprisoned in the worst cell of all, oneself.

- Graham Greene

Trust, Impossible, Through, Imprisoned

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