Stephen Crane

“He saw that it was an ironical thing for him to be running thus toward that which he had been at such pains to avoid.”

“If I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees?”

“He did not consider public opinion to be accurate at long range.”

“But as the girl timidly accosted him, he gave a convulsive movement and saved hisrespectability by a vigorous side-step. He did not risk it to save a soul. For how was he toknow that there was a soul before him that needed saving?”

“Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.War is kind.Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.The unexplained glory flies above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom -A field where a thousand corpses lie.Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.”

“Sometimes, the most profound of awakenings come wrapped in the quietest of moments.”

“When the prophet, a complacent fat man,Arrived at the mountain-topHe cried: "Woe to my knowledge!I intended to see good white landsAnd bad black lands—But the scene is grey.”

“A serious prophet upon predicting a flood should be the first man to climb a tree. This would demonstrate that he was indeed a seer.”

“Every sin is the result of a colaboration”

“The maddened four men followed frantically, for it is better to be in the presence of the awful than only within hearing. ("The Black Dog")”

“Camp fires, like red, peculiar blossoms, dotted the night.”

“It is perhaps, plausible that a man in this situation, impressed with the unconcern of the universe, should see the innumerable flaws of his life and have them taste wickedly in his mind and wish for another chance.”

“The moon had been lighted and was hung in a treetop.”

“This poor gambler isn’t even a noun. He is kind of an adverb.”

“It perhaps might be said--if any one dared--that the most worthless literature of the world has been that which has been written by the men of one nation concerning the men of another.”

“Two or three angelsCame near to the earth.They saw a fat church.Little black streams of peopleCame and went in continually.And the angels were puzzledTo know why the people went thus,And why they stayed so long within.”

“When the suicide arrived at the sky, the people there asked him: "Why?" He replied: "Because no one admired me.”

“It appeared that the swift wings of their desires would have shattered against the iron gates of the impossible.”

“These men were born to drill and die.            Point for them the virtue of the slaughter,            Make plain to them the excellence of killing            And a field where a thousand corpses lie.”

“A learned man came to me once.He said, "I know the way, -- come."And I was overjoyed at this.Together we hastened.Soon, too soon, were weWhere my eyes were useless,And I knew not the ways of my feet.I clung to the hand of my friend;But at last he cried, "I am lost.”