“Finality is death. Perfection is finality. Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it, said the Philosopher.” — James Stephens Death Copy Share Image
Because our lives are cowardly and sly, Because we do not dare to take or give, Because we scowl and pass each… — James Stephens Cowardly Copy Share Image
The mysteries of death and birth occupy women far more than is the case with men, to whom political and mercantile speculations… — James Stephens Birth Copy Share Image
“It has occurred to me, brother, that wisdom may not be the end to everything. Goodness and kindness are, perhaps, beyond wisdom.… — James Stephens Goodness and kindness Copy Share Image
Let the past be content with itself, for man needs forgetfulness as well as memory — James Stephens Forgetfulness Copy Share Image
To understand the theory which underlies all things is not sufficient. Theory is but the preparation for practice. — James Stephens All things Copy Share Image
I came to the resolve that the attempt was not only worth trying, but should be tried in the very near future… — James Stephens Decades Copy Share Image
To ask questions can become the laziest and wobbliest occupation of a mind, but when you must yourself answer the problem that… — James Stephens Answer Copy Share Image
God did not need any assistance, but man did; bitterly he wanted it, and the giving of such assistance was the proper… — James Stephens Any Copy Share Image
We are washed both on coming into the world and on going out of it, and we take no pleasure from the… — James Stephens Any Copy Share Image
Chaos is the first condition. Order is the first law. Continuity is the first reflection. Quietude is the first happiness. — James Stephens Chaos Copy Share Image
“In truth we do not go to Faery, we become Fairy, and in the beating of a pulse we may live for… — James Stephens Thousand years Copy Share Image
“Knowledge, may it be said, is higher than magic and is more to be sought. It is quite possible to see what… — James Stephens Knowledge Copy Share Image
Any fool can wash himself, but every wise man knows that it is an unnecessary labour, for nature will quickly reduce him… — James Stephens Again Copy Share Image
“There is a difference between this world and the world of Faery, but it is not immediately perceptible. Everything that is here… — James Stephens Faery Copy Share Image
“A poem is a revelation, and it is by the brink of running water that poetry is revealed to the mind.” — James Stephens Poetry Copy Share Image
The trouble of the king becomes the trouble of the subject, for how shall we live if judgement is withheld, or if… — James Stephens Becomes Copy Share Image
Under all wrongdoing lies personal vanity or the feeling that we are endowed and privileged beyond our fellows. — James Stephens Beyond Copy Share Image
When a woman speaks to a man about the love she feels for another man, she is not liked. — James Stephens About Copy Share Image
There is no tragedy more woeful than the victory of hate, nor any attainment so hopelessly barren as the sterility of that… — James Stephens Achievement Copy Share Image
My three-thousand mile walk through Ireland convinced me of one thing - the possibility of organising a proper movement for the independence… — James Stephens Convinced Copy Share Image
