Lafcadio Hearn Quotes

47 quotes in 801 categories

• In order to comprehend the beauty of a Japanese garden, it is necessary to understand - or at least to learn to understand - the…
• The fact, however, to which I want to call attention is that the master of Judo never relies upon his own strength. He scarcely uses…
• I may venture to say, loosely, that in Judo there is a sort of counter for every twist, wrench, pull, push or bend. Only the…
• No man can possibly know what life means, what the world means, until he has a child and loves it. And then the whole universe…
• All good work is done the way ants do things: Little by little.
• In the world of reality the more beautiful a work of art, the longer, we may be sure, was the time required to make it,…
• The Western poet and writer of romance has exactly the same kind of difficulty in comprehending Eastern subjects as you have in comprehending Western subjects.
• French novels generally treat of the relations of women to the world and to lovers, after marriage; consequently there is a great deal in French…
• Broad tolerance in the matter of beliefs is necessarily a part of the new ethics.
• There is one type of ideal woman very seldom described in poetry - the old maid, the woman whom sorrow or misfortune prevents from fulfilling…
• The tea ceremony requires years of training and practice ... yet the whole of this art, as to its detail, signifies no more than the…
• A proof of really great art is that it is generally true - it seldom falls into the misapprehensions to which minor art is liable.
• Any idealism is a proper subject for art.
• At last, in 1611, was made, under the auspices of King James, the famous King James version; and this is the great literary monument of…
• But the history of the changes produced by a universal idea is not a history of changes in the individual, but of changes brought about…
• But what is after all the happiness of mere power? There is a greater happiness possible than to be lord of heaven and earth; that…
• How sweet Japanese woman is! All the possibilities of the race for goodness seem to be concentrated in her.
• Japanese affection is not uttered in words; it scarcely appears even in the tone of voice; it is chiefly shown in acts of exquisite courtesy…
• There was very little suicide among the men of the North, because every man considered it his duty to get killed, not to kill himself;…
• The time of illusion, then, is the beautiful moment of passion; it represents the artistic zone in which the poet or romance writer ought to…

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