Men Quotes by John Steinbeck · Page 3

Sometimes a kind of glory lights up the mind of a man.

— John Steinbeck

Perhaps the best conversationalist in the world is the man who helps others to talk.

— John Steinbeck

Every man in a bank hates what the bank does and yet the bank does it.

— John Steinbeck

The fields were fruitful, and starving men moved on the roads.

— John Steinbeck

I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a…

— John Steinbeck

A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean question:…

— John Steinbeck

The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster. Men made it, but they can't control it.

— John Steinbeck

I am a little man and this is a little town, but there must be a spark in little men that can…

— John Steinbeck

The misery stayed, not thought about but aching away, and sometimes I would have to ask myself, Why do I ache? Men…

— John Steinbeck

In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved.

— John Steinbeck

And this you can know- fear the time when Manself will not suffer and die for a concept, for this one quality…

— John Steinbeck

But think of the glory of the choice! That makes a man a man. A cat has no choice, a bee must…

— John Steinbeck

When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and…

— John Steinbeck

Thou mayest rule over sin,' Lee. That's it. I do not believe all men are destroyed. I can name you a dozen…

— John Steinbeck

I am sifting my memories, the way men pan the dirt under a barroom floor for the bits of gold dust that…

— John Steinbeck

He saw something that makes a man doubtful of the constancy of the realities outside himself. It was the shocking discovery that…

— John Steinbeck

One can't be happy as I have been for very long. There's a law against it. I have worked hard and enjoyed…

— John Steinbeck

“Do you take pride in your hurt?” Samuel asked. “Does it make you seem large and tragic?” “I don't know.” “Well, think…

— John Steinbeck

But 'Thou mayest!'! Why, that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his…

— John Steinbeck

For there are two possible reactions to social ostracism - either a man emerges determined to be better, purer, and kindlier or…

— John Steinbeck

We have never understood why men mount the heads of animals and hang them up to look down on their conquerers. Possibly…

— John Steinbeck

I believe there are techniques of the human mind whereby, in its dark deep, problems are examined, rejected or accepted. Such activities…

— John Steinbeck

I think bullfights are for men who aren't very brave and wish they were. If you saw one you'll know what I…

— John Steinbeck

Men do change, and change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like the stealthy…

— John Steinbeck

After the bare requisites to living and reproducing, man wants most to leave some record of himself, a proof, perhaps, that he…

— John Steinbeck

A man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has as many versions…

— John Steinbeck

He had said, "I am a man," and that meant certain things to Juana. It meant that he was half insane and…

— John Steinbeck

The design of a book is the pattern of a reality controlled and shaped by the mind of the writer. This is…

— John Steinbeck

But you must give him some sign, some sign that you love him... or he'll never be a man. All his life…

— John Steinbeck

An unbelieved truth can hurt a man much more than a lie. It takes great courage to back truth unacceptable to our…

— John Steinbeck

It was deeply a part of Lee's kindness and understanding that man's right to kill himself is inviolable, but sometimes a friend…

— John Steinbeck

For every man in the world functions to the best of his ability, and no one does less than his best, no…

— John Steinbeck

I see too many men delay their exits with a sickly, slow reluctance to leave the stage. It's bad theater as well…

— John Steinbeck

And finally, in our time a beard is the one thing that a woman cannot do better than a man, or if…

— John Steinbeck

There's nothing sadder to me than associations held together by nothing but the glue of postage stamps. If you can't see or…

— John Steinbeck

I have seen too many men go down, and I never permit myself to forget that one day, through accident or under…

— John Steinbeck

Yes, you should talk," he said. "Sometimes a sad man can talk the sadness right out through his mouth. Sometimes a killin'…

— John Steinbeck

All Americans believe that they are born fishermen. For a man to admit a distaste for fishing would be like denouncing mother-love…

— John Steinbeck

Men really need sea-monsters in their personal oceans. An ocean without its unnamed monsters would be like a completely dreamless sleep.

— John Steinbeck

The Mojave is a big desert and a frightening one. It’s as though nature tested a man for endurance and constancy to…

— John Steinbeck