---
title: "4 Biographies Quotes By Iris Origo"
description: "4 Biographies quotes by Iris Origo. Plus more from Iris Origo and more Biographies sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is_778442.jpg"
---

> [ \[On writing biography:\] ... every human life is at once so complex and so simple, so perplexing and so clear, so superficial… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is-at-once-so-complex-and-so/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is_778442.jpg)

> [Behind each biography there should always be a rich treasury of unformulated knowledge, a tapestry that has not been unrolled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/behind-each-biography-there-should-always-be-a-rich-treasury-of/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/iris-origo-37752_behinds_behind-each-biography-there-should-alway_959656.jpg)

> [I do not think that one is likely to write a good biography unless one feels some sympathy with its subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/i-do-not-think-that-one-is-likely-to-write-a-good-biography-unless/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/iris-origo-37752_biographies_i-do-not-think-that-one-is-likely-to-wri_1568307.jpg)

> [ \[On writing biography:\] If you wish to see a person you must not start by seeing through him. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/on-writing-biography-if-you-wish-to-see-a-person-you-must-not-start/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-if-you-wish-to-see_3015501.jpg)

## Other authors on Biographies

## More by Iris Origo

> [Just as, in travel, one may miss seeing the sunset because one cannot find the ticket-office or is afraid of missing the train, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/just-as-in-travel-one-may-miss-seeing-the-sunset-because-one-cannot/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

> [I write because, exacting as it may be to do so, it is still more difficult to refrain, and because - however conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/i-write-because-exacting-as-it-may-be-to-do-so-it-is-still-more/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

> [I believe that every life , irrespective of its events and setting, holds something of unique value, which it should be possible to communicate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/i-believe-that-every-life-irrespective-of-its-events-and-setting/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

> [ \[On writing biography:\] ... every human life is at once so complex and so simple, so perplexing and so clear, so superficial and so… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is-at-once-so-complex-and-so/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

> [Behind each biography there should always be a rich treasury of unformulated knowledge, a tapestry that has not been unrolled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/behind-each-biography-there-should-always-be-a-rich-treasury-of/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

> [We are being governed by the dregs of the nation - and their brutality is so capricious that no one can feel certain that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/we-are-being-governed-by-the-dregs-of-the-nation-and-their-brutality/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

> [whereas in childhood ... it was the parents' judgement that mattered to the child, later on the situation becomes reversed: it is then that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/whereas-in-childhood-it-was-the-parents-judgement-that-mattered-to/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

> [while it is certainly the biographer's business to describe the foibles, passions and idiosyncrasies which make his subject a person, his work will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/while-it-is-certainly-the-biographer-s-business-to-describe-the/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

> [I do not think that one is likely to write a good biography unless one feels some sympathy with its subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/i-do-not-think-that-one-is-likely-to-write-a-good-biography-unless/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

> [I believe, not theoretically, but from direct personal experience, that very few of the things that happen to us are purposeless or accidental (and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/i-believe-not-theoretically-but-from-direct-personal-experience-that/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

> [The biographer's real business - if it is not too arrogant to say so - is simply this: to bring the dead to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/the-biographer-s-real-business-if-it-is-not-too-arrogant-to-say-so-is/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

> [ \[On writing biography:\] If you wish to see a person you must not start by seeing through him. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/on-writing-biography-if-you-wish-to-see-a-person-you-must-not-start/)

[Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/)

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