The Best Washington Irving quotes

The youthful freshness of a blameless heart. — Washington Irving

He is the true enchanter, whose spell operates, not upon the senses, but upon the imagination and the heart. — Washington Irving

I profess not to know how women’s hearts are wooed and won. To me they have always been matters of riddle and admiration. — Washington Irving

Others may write from the head, but he writes from the heart, and the heart will always understand him. — Washington Irving

He who wins a thousand common hearts is entitled to some renown; but he who keeps undisputed sway over the heart of a coquette is indeed a hero. — Washington Irving

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. — Washington Irving

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

A kind heArt is A fountAin of glAdness, mAking everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles. — Washington Irving

How easy is it for one benevolent being to diffuse pleasure around him, and how truly is a kind heart a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity to freshen into smiles. — Washington Irving

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

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

The slanders of the pen pierce to the heart; they rankle longest in the noblest spirits; they dwell ever present in the mind and render it morbidly sensitive to the most trifling collision. — Washington Irving

The paternal hearth, the rallying–place of the affections. — Washington Irving

There is never jealousy where there is not strong regard. — Washington Irving

There are moments of mingled sorrow and tenderness, which hallow the caresses of affection. — Washington Irving

Great minds have purposes, little minds have wishes. — Washington Irving

There is nothing like the silence and loneliness of night to bring dark shadows over the brightest mind. — Washington Irving

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

There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind. — Washington Irving

Small minds are subdued by misfortunes, greater minds overcome them. — Washington Irving

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

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

Great minds have purpose, others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them. — Washington Irving

There are certain half–dreaming moods of mind in which we naturally steal away from noise and glare, and seek some quiet haunt where we may indulge our reveries and build our air castles undisturbed. — Washington Irving

I have never found, in anything outside of the four walls of my study, an enjoyment equal to sitting at my writing desk with a clean page, a new theme, and a mind awake. — Washington Irving

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

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

Washington, in fact, had very little private life, but was eminently a public character. — Washington Irving

There is no character in the comedy of human life more difficult to play well than that of an old bachelor. — Washington Irving

Into the space of one little hour sins enough may be conjured up by evil tongues to blast the fame of a whole life of virtue. — Washington Irving

In civilized life, where the happiness, and indeed almost the existence, of man depends so much upon the opinion of his fellow men, he is constantly acting a studied part. — Washington Irving

Indeed, there is an eloquence in true enthusiasm that is not to be doubted. — Washington Irving

There is nothing in this world so hard to get at as truth, and there is nothing in this world but truth that I care for. — Washington Irving

The only happy author in this world is he who is below the care of reputation. — Washington Irving

No man knows what the wife of his bosom is until he has gone with her through the fiery trials of this world. — Washington Irving

It’s a dog eat dog world. But only if the second dog is more stupid than the first. — Washington Irving

A father may turn his back on his child, … . but a mother’s love endures through all. — Washington Irving

There is a sacredness in tears….They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love. — Washington Irving

And if unhappy in her love, her heart is like some fortress that has been captured, and sacked, and abandoned, and left desolate… — Washington Irving

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

True love will not brook reserve; it feels undervalued and outraged, when even the sorrows of those it loves are concealed from it. — Washington Irving

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

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness but of power. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and of unspeakable love. — Washington Irving

A woman is more considerate in affairs of love than a man; because love is more the study and business of her life. — Washington Irving

For my part, I love to give myself up to the illusion of poetry. A hero of fiction that never existed is just as valuable to me as a hero of history that existed a thousand years ago. — Washington Irving

It was Shakespeare’s notion that on this day birds begin to couple; hence probably arose the custom of sending fancy love–billets. — Washington Irving

The love of a mother is never exhausted. It never changes–it never tires–it endures through all; in good repute, in bad repute. In the face of the world’s condemnation, a mother’s love still lives on. — Washington Irving