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Washington Irving Quotes

Powerful Washington Irving for Daily Growth

About Washington Irving

Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – December 28, 1859) was an American author, essayist, biographer, and historian, best known worldwide for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Born in New York City, he was the first of eleven children in a prominent family. His father was a wealthy merchant who owned large landholdings, but Irving's interest lay not in business but in literature. Irving attended Columbia College (now University) and later studied law, though he never practiced it. Instead, he pursued writing, starting with journalism. In 1809, he published Salmagundi, a collection of essays, satires, and parodies that established his literary voice and attracted attention. In 1815, Irving traveled to England, where he wrote "Rip Van Winkle," set in the Catskill Mountains of New York, and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," both published in 1820 as part of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. These tales helped establish the Gothic tradition in American literature and remain iconic today. In 1829, Irving was appointed U.S. Minister to Spain by President John Quincy Adams. He spent five years in Madrid, where he wrote A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (1828), one of his most influential works. Upon returning to America in 1834, Irving purchased Sunnyside, a picturesque estate on the Hudson River, which became his home for the rest of his life. He continued to write, producing Tales of a Traveller (1835), Knickerbocker's History of New York (1809), and Bracebridge Hall (1845). Throughout his career, Irving drew inspiration from folklore, history, and the American spirit. He passed away in Tarrytown, New York, on December 28, 1859, leaving behind a rich literary legacy that continues to captivate readers today.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"We are all ghosts... Each life is but a series of departures."

This quote suggests that we, as individuals, experience a succession of stages or phases in our lives, each one representing a departure from what was, towards what will be. Just as a ghost represents something or someone that has passed but is still remembered, our past experiences shape us and remain with us even as we move forward. The quote underscores the transient nature of life and encourages us to embrace change and transition, recognizing that every stage or departure brings growth and new possibilities.

"In nature's inexhaustible store of treasure, the greatest things are open to the smallest eye."

This quote by Washington Irving emphasizes that the wonders of nature are available to everyone, regardless of their status or position in life. It suggests that even the smallest observer can appreciate the vast riches and beauty that nature has to offer, implying a sense of equality and accessibility in appreciating the natural world. This idea can be extended to various aspects of life, suggesting that important truths, beauty, or opportunities may be accessible to everyone, not just the privileged few.

"He who has no imagination has no wings."

This quote by Washington Irving underscores the importance of imagination in human life. Imagination, being our creative and intellectual faculty, allows us to envision possibilities beyond our immediate reality. It is akin to having "wings," enabling us to soar above everyday experiences, dream, innovate, and create. Without it, we are confined to the mundane, lacking the ability to transcend boundaries and explore new ideas or perspectives. Therefore, having an active imagination not only broadens our personal horizons but also contributes significantly to societal growth and progress.

"Every man may acknowledge himself to be the author of his own happiness or misery."

This quote emphasizes personal responsibility, suggesting that individuals have control over their own emotions and life circumstances to a significant degree. In other words, it encourages people to understand that they are primarily responsible for creating their own happiness or suffering, through their thoughts, actions, and decisions. It's a call to take charge of one's life and make the most out of it by embracing personal growth, self-awareness, and proactive decision-making.

"The heart has its reasons which reason does not know."

This quote by Washington Irving highlights the idea that our emotions, intuition, and feelings (often referred to as "the heart") can guide us in ways that rational thought or reasoning alone cannot always understand or explain. It suggests that there are aspects of human behavior and decision-making that go beyond the boundaries of logical understanding, implying a deeper, less quantifiable level of wisdom within each individual. This idea has profound implications for self-awareness, empathy, and the understanding of human nature.

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.

- Washington Irving

Love, Sad, Deep, Contrition

There is in every true woman's heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.

- Washington Irving

Adversity, Woman, Which, Broad

Marriage is the torment of one, the felicity of two, the strife and enmity of three.

- Washington Irving

Marriage, Strife, Torment, Enmity

The easiest thing to do, whenever you fail, is to put yourself down by blaming your lack of ability for your misfortunes.

- Washington Irving

Easiest Thing, Misfortunes, Blaming

Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.

- Washington Irving

Friendship, Mellow, Sadly, Departing

Great minds have purposes; others have wishes.

- Washington Irving

Wishes, Great Minds, Minds, Purposes

A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use.

- Washington Irving

Tongue, Constant, Grows, Keener

A sharp tongue is the only edge tool that grows keener with constant use.

- Washington Irving

Edge, Constant, Grows, Keener

Temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use.

- Washington Irving

Tongue, Constant, Grows, Keener

The sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. Every other wound we seek to heal - every other affliction to forget: but this wound we consider it a duty to keep open - this affliction we cherish and brood over in solitude.

- Washington Irving

Other, Over, Which, Affliction

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.

- Washington Irving

Love, Relationship, Never, Love Is

Who ever hears of fat men heading a riot, or herding together in turbulent mobs? No - no, your lean, hungry men who are continually worrying society, and setting the whole community by the ears.

- Washington Irving

Worrying, Mobs, Heading, Herding

There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations.

- Washington Irving

Soul, Woodland, Settled, Fills

There is in every woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.

- Washington Irving

Adversity, Woman, Which, Spark

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.

- Washington Irving

Smile, Fountain, Making, Gladness

Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.

- Washington Irving

Charity, Christmas, Genial, Season

An inexhaustible good nature is one of the most precious gifts of heaven, spreading itself like oil over the troubled sea of thought, and keeping the mind smooth and equable in the roughest weather.

- Washington Irving

Good, Mind, Over, Inexhaustible

It is not poverty so much as pretense that harasses a ruined man - the struggle between a proud mind and an empty purse - the keeping up of a hollow show that must soon come to an end.

- Washington Irving

Mind, Proud, Keeping, Struggle

There is certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position, and be bruised in a new place.

- Washington Irving

New, Bruised, Though, Relief

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them.

- Washington Irving

Great, Rise Above, Little Minds

Rising genius always shoots out its rays from among the clouds, but these will gradually roll away and disappear as it ascends to its steady luster.

- Washington Irving

Always, Rising, Away, Shoots

Honest good humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting, and there is no jovial companionship equal to that where the jokes are rather small and laughter abundant.

- Washington Irving

Humor, Small, Rather, Wine

After all, it is the divinity within that makes the divinity without; and I have been more fascinated by a woman of talent and intelligence, though deficient in personal charms, than I have been by the most regular beauty.

- Washington Irving

Woman, Been, Divinity, Charms

The land of literature is a fairy land to those who view it at a distance, but, like all other landscapes, the charm fades on a nearer approach, and the thorns and briars become visible.

- Washington Irving

Thorns, Other, Landscapes, Fairy

Young lawyers attend the courts, not because they have business there, but because they have no business.

- Washington Irving

Business, Lawyers, Attend, No Business

The tongue is the only tool that gets sharper with use.

- Washington Irving

Tongue, Sharper, Use, Tool

Some minds seem almost to create themselves, springing up under every disadvantage and working their solitary but irresistible way through a thousand obstacles.

- Washington Irving

Through, Some, Disadvantage, Irresistible

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

- Washington Irving

Woman, Life Is A, Whole, Affections

The natural principle of war is to do the most harm to our enemy with the least harm to ourselves; and this of course is to be effected by stratagem.

- Washington Irving

Natural, Principle, Harm, Stratagem

A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands. But a mother's love endures through all.

- Washington Irving

Love, Mom, Through, Inveterate

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