James Joyce

mistake portal discovery

"Mistakes are the portals of discovery".

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

shut eyes see

“Shut your eyes and see.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

escape self longest way round shortest home

“Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

genius mistake error volitional portal discovery

“A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

moanday tearday wailsday thumosday frightday shatterday

“All Moanday, Tearday, Wailsday, Thumpsday, Frightday, Shatterday.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

life short bad book

“Life is too short to read a bad book.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

Shakespeare hunting ground mind balance

“Shakespeare is the happy hunting ground of all minds that have lost their balance.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

writing English torture reading public

“Writing in English is the most ingenious torture ever devised for sins committed in previous lives. The English reading public explains the reason why.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

learn humble life teacher

“To learn one must be humble. But life is the great teacher.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

country die war

“Let my country die for me.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

friends old

“There's no friends like the old friends.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

light music whisky glass interlude

“The light music of whisky falling into glasses made an agreeable interlude.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

heresy philosophy abhorrent church human being

“There is no heresy or no philosophy which is so abhorrent to the church as a human being.”

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

absence presence

"Absence, the highest form of presence."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

no past future flow eternal present

"There is not past, no future; everything flows in an eternal present."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

fall rise

"Fall if you will, but rise you must."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

sceptical thought-tormented age hyper-educated quality

"But we are living in a sceptical and, if I may use the phrase, a thought-tormented age: and sometimes I fear that this new generation, educated or hyper-educated as it is, will lack those qualities of humanity, of hospitality, of kindly humour which belonged to an older day."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

writing effort risk

"The important thing is not what we write but how we write, and in my opinion the modern writer must be an adventurer above all, willing to take every risk, and be prepared to founder in his effort if need be. In other words we must write dangerously."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

Jesus bachelor woman difficult

"Jesus was a bachelor and never lived with a woman. Surely living with a woman is one of the most difficult things a man has to do, and he never did it."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

children educated love punishment

"Children must be educated by love, not punishment."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

enigma puzzle professor century argue meaning immortality

"I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of insuring one's immortality."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

death die bold glory passion fade dismal age

"Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

men govern line intellect women curve emotion

"Men are governed by lines of intellect - women: by curves of emotion."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

proud emotionalist

"I am proud to be an emotionalist."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

thought thinking

"Thought is the thought of thought."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

irishman Irland silence cunning exile

"An Irishman needs three things : silence, cunnning, and exile."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

object artist beautiful question creation

"The object of the artist is the creation of the beautiful. What the beautiful is is another question."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

place remember event

"Places remember events."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

Christopher Columbus honored last discover America

"Christopher Columbus, as everyone knows, is honored by posterity because he was the last to discover America."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

beware horn bull heel horse smile Englishman

"Beware the horns of a bull, the heels of the horse, and the smile of an Englishman."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)

bury dead Robinson Crusoe Friday bury Thursday

"Bury the dead. Say Robinson Crusoe was true to life. Well then Friday buried him. Every Friday buries a Thursday if you come to look at it."

— James Joyce (1882-1941)