James Stephens

“The mysteries of death and birth occupy women far more than is the case with men, to whom political and mercantile speculations are more congenial.”

“Women are stronger than men - they do not die of wisdom.”

“The trouble of the king becomes the trouble of the subject, for how shall we live if judgement is withheld, or if faulty decisions are promulgated?”

“We get wise by asking questions, and even if these are not answered, we get wise, for a well-packed question carries its answer on its back as a snail carries its shell.”

“A woman is a branchy tree and man a singing wind; and from her branches carelessly he takes what he can find.”

“A secret is a weapon and a friend.”

“To ask questions can become the laziest and wobbliest occupation of a mind, but when you must yourself answer the problem that you have posed, you will meditate your question with care and frame it with precision.”

“Let the past be content with itself, for man needs forgetfulness as well as memory.”

“When a woman speaks to a man about the love she feels for another man, she is not liked.”

“To work is nothing; the king on his throne, the priest kneeling before the Holy Altar, all people in all places had to work, but no person at all need be a servant.”

“A Leprecaun without a pot of gold is like a rose without perfume, a bird without a wing, or an inside without an outside.”

“Knowledge, may it be said, is higher than magic and is more to be sought. It is quite possible to see what is happening and yet not know what is forward, for while seeing is believing, it does not follow that either seeing or believing is knowing.”

“Chaos is the first condition. Order is the first law. Continuity is the first reflection. Quietude is the first happiness.”

“You must be fit to give before you can be fit to receive.”

“Finality is death. Perfection is finality. Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it.”

“Man works outwardly and inwardly - after rest, he has energy; after energy, he needs repose; so, when we have given instruction for a time, we need instruction and must receive it, or the spirit faints and wisdom herself grows bitter.”

“There is no tragedy more woeful than the victory of hate, nor any attainment so hopelessly barren as the sterility of that achievement; for hate is finality, and finality is the greatest evil which can happen in a world of movement.”

“A man and a woman may become quite intimate in a quarter of an hour. Almost certainly will they endeavour to explain themselves to each other before many minutes have elapsed; but a man and a man will not do this, and even less so will a woman and a woman, for these are parallel lines which will never meet.”

“Women and birds are able to see without turning their heads, and that is indeed a necessary provision for they are both surrounded by enemies.”

“By having much, you are fitted to have more.”