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Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens Quotes

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Famous Charles Dickens Quotes

“The talker has found a hearer but not a listener; and though he may talk his very best for his own sake, you will find that his mental movements are erratic: they have no fixed centre and no definite object. His talk is like the water of a canal whose banks have given way, which rolls aimlessly hither and thither, without fulfilling any useful function, though it is the same water which was so helpful and serviceable, when it was confined within clearly marked limits by the restraining force of its earthy boundaries.”

WayMayFoundGivenForceWaterMovementObjectsListeningLimitsFunctionSakeBoundariesFixedHelpfulListenersFulfillingDefiniteCentreConfinedTalkersCanalsRestrainingErratic
Author:Charles Dickens
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“It is an exquisite and beautiful thing in our nature, that, when the heart is touched and softened by some tranquil happiness or affectionate feeling, the memory of the dead comes over it most powerfully and irresistibly. It would seem almost as though our better thoughts and sympathies were charms, in virtue of which the soul is enabled to hold some vague and mysterious intercourse with the spirits of those whom we loved in life. Alas! how often and how long may these patient angels hover around us, watching for the spell which is so soon forgotten!”

HeartMayLongSoulFeelingsSeemsBeautifulDeathSpiritMemoriesVirtueAngelPatientForgottenMysteriousCharmTouchedOver ItMost PowerfulSpellsBeautiful ThingsVagueAlasExquisiteIntercourseTranquilAffectionate
Author:Charles Dickens
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“The memories which peaceful country scenes call up, are not of this world, nor of its thoughts and hopes. Their gentle influence may teach us how to weave fresh garlands for the graves of those we loved: may purify our thoughts, and bear down before it old enmity and hatred; but beneath all this, there lingers, in the least reflective mind, a vague and half-formed consciousness of having held such feelings long before, in some remote and distant time, which calls up solemn thoughts of distant times to come, and bends down pride and worldliness beneath it.”

WorldMindMayLongCountryFeelingsNatureMemoriesHalfConsciousnessTeachInfluenceThis WorldPrideBearsSceneHatredGravesPeacefulGentleOur ThoughtsVagueSolemnEnmityGarlandsWorldlinessPeaceful Country
Book:Oliver Twist
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“"But even if he has been wicked," pursued Rose, "think how young he is; think that he may never have known a mother's love, or the comfort of a home; that ill-usage and blows, or the want of bread, may have driven him to herd with men who have forced him to guilt. Aunt, dear aunt, for mercy's sake, think of this, before you let them drag this sick child to a prison, which in any case must be the grave of all his chances of amendment."”

IfsThinkingMenWantMayChildrenHas BeensHomeYoungMotherNatureChanceKnownCasesComfortMercySickPrisonGuiltRoseSakeDearIllBlowDrivenGravesBreadWickedAmendmentsDragAuntPursuedHerdsUsageMother's LoveSick Children
Book:The Charles Dickens Collection Volume One: Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and Bleak House
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“Thus, it comes to pass, that a certain room in a certain old hall, where a certain bad lord, baronet, knight, or gentleman, shot himself, has certain planks in the floor from which the blood will not be taken out. You may scrape and scrape, as the present owner has done, or plane and plane, as his father did, or scrub and scrub, as his grandfather did, or burn and burn with strong acids, as his great-grandfather did, but, there the blood will still be - no redder and no paler - no more and no less - always just the same.”

MayStillsDoneCertainFatherStrongRoomsLordTakenBloodShotsPlanesGentlemanOwnersHallsGrandfatherKnightsAcidSpookyGreat Grandfather
Book:Some Christmas Stories
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“And when it has got in; as one not finding what it seeks, whatever that may be, it wails and howls to issue forth again: and not content with stalking through the aisles, and gliding round and round the pillars, and tempting the deep organ, soars up to the roof, and strives to rend the rafters: then flings itself despairingly upon the stones below, and passes, muttering, into the vaults.”

MayIssuesFindingsStonesStriveRoundsOrgansRoofStrifeSoarPillarsStalkingHowlTemptingFlingSpookyAisleVaultsGlidingMutteringRafters
Book:Dickens' Christmas Spirits: A Christmas Carol and Other Tales
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“Its very pulse, if I may use the word, was like no other clock. It did not mark the flight of every moment with a gentle second stroke, as though it would check old Time, and have him stay his pace in pity, but measured it with one sledge-hammer beat, as if its business were to crush the seconds as they came trooping on, and remorselessly to clear a path before the Day of Judgment.”

IfsMayMomentsUsePathClearJudgmentBeatsMarkChecksPityFlightClockGentleCrushSecondsPaceStrokesHammersPulseSpookyOld Time
Book:The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Other Pieces
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“I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly settle in my mind is, that the end will absolutely come. I hold her hand in mine, I hold her heart in mine, I see her love for me, alive in all its strength. I cannot shut out a pale lingering shadow of belief that she will be spared.”

LoveMindHeartMayEndsDoneHandsBeliefAliveMinesShadowSettlingPaleConsoleLingering
Book:The Personal History of David Copperfield
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“If I may so express it, I was steeped in Dora. I was not merely over head and ears in love with her, but I was saturated through and through. Enough love might have been wrung out of me, metaphorically speaking, to drown anybody in; and yet there would have remained enough within me, and all over me, to pervade my entire existence.”

IfsLoveMayHas BeensEnoughMightExistenceEarsMight Have BeenSaturatedEnough Love
Book:David Copperfield
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“It is one of those problems of human nature, which may be noted down, but not solved; - although Ralph felt no remorse at that moment for his conduct towards the innocent, true-hearted girl; although his libertine clients had done precisely what he had expected, precisely what he most wished, and precisely what would tend most to his advantage, still he hated them for doing it, from the very bottom of his soul.”

HumansMayStillsSoulDoneMomentsCharacterProblemGirlFeltInterestingHuman NatureAdvantageBottomExpectedInnocentHatedThat MomentClientsRemorseHeartedInteresting CharactersLibertine
Book:The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby ... With a Frontispiece from a Painting by T. Webster
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“Notwithstanding his very liberal laudation of himself, however, the Major was selfish. It may be doubted whether there ever was a more entirely selfish person at heart; or at stomach is perhaps a better expression, seeing that he was more decidedly endowed with that latter organ than with the former.”

HeartMayPersonsCharacterInterestingSeeingExpressionMajorsSelfishFormerLatterStomachOrgansDoubtedInteresting CharactersSelfish Person
Book:Charles Dickens's works. Charles Dickens ed. [18 vols. of a 21 vol. set. Wanting A child's history of England; Christmas stories; The mystery of Edwin Drood].
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“"I take my leave of you, Mr. Creakle, and all of you," said Mr. Mell, glancing round the room, and again patting me gently on the shoulders. "James Steerforth, the best wish I can leave you is that you may come to be ashamed of what you have done today. At present I would prefer to see you anything rather than a friend, to me, or to anyone in whom I feel an interest."”

FeelsMaySaidI CanDoneCharacterTodayWishInterestInterestingRoomsRoundsShouldersAshamedInteresting CharactersBest Wishes
Book:David Copperfield: Classic English Literature
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“'There may be some, perhaps - I don't know that there are - who abuse his kindness,' said Mr. Wickfield. 'Never be one of those, Trotwood, in anything. He is the least suspicious of mankind; and whether that's a merit, or whether it's a blemish, it deserves consideration in all dealings with the Doctor, great or small.”

KnowsMaySaidCharacterInterestingKindnessMankindDeserveDoctorsAbuseMeritConsiderationSuspiciousDealingsInteresting Characters
Book:David Copperfield
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“Recollections of the past and visions of the present come to bear me company; the meanest man to whom I have ever given alms appears, to add his mite of peace and comfort to my stock; and whenever the fire within me shall grow cold, to light my path upon this earth no more, I pray that it may be at such an hour as this, and when I love the world as well as I do now.”

MenWorldInspirationalWellsMayLightEarthPastGivenGrowsHoursCompanyVisionPathFireColdBearsPrayingComfortAddI PrayRecollectionAlmsFire Within
Book:CHARLES DICKENS – The Complete Short Stories: 190+ Christmas Tales, Social Sketches, Tales for Children & Other Stories (Illustrated): A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Battle of Life, The Haunted Man, Sketches by Boz, Mudfog Papers, Reprinted Pieces, Pearl-Fishing, Christmas Stories, Child's Dream of a Star, Holiday Romance…
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“Some happy talent, and some fortunate opportunity, may form the two sides of the ladder on which some men mount, but the rounds of that ladder must be made of stuff to stand wear and tear; and there is no substitute for thorough-going, ardent, and sincere earnestness.”

MenInspirationalMayMadeTwoFormOpportunityStuffSidesTalentTearsRoundsFortunateSincereSubstitutesLaddersTwo SidesThoroughArdentEarnestness
Book:Delphi Complete Works of Charles Dickens (Illustrated)
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“"I go so far as to say, miss, morehover," proceeded Mr. Cruncher, with a most alarming tendency to hold forth as from a pulpit-"and let my words be took down and took to Mrs. Cruncher through yourself-that wot my opinions respectin' flopping has undergone a change, and that wot I only hope with all my heart as Mrs. Cruncher may be a flopping at the present time."”

HeartMayFunnyOpinionMissingMy HeartHumorousDown AndTendenciesPulpitPresent TimeWotFlopping
Book:A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations (Oprah's Book Club): Two Novels
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“"Vell," said Mr. Weller, "Now I s'pose he'll want to call some witnesses to speak to his character, or p'raps to prove a alleybi. I've been a turnin' the bis'ness over in my mind, and he may make his-self easy, Sammy. I've got some friends as'll do either for him, but my adwice 'ud be this here-never mind the character, and stick to the alleybi. Nothing like a alleybi, Sammy, nothing."”

WantMindMaySaidSelfCharacterFunnySpeakEasyProveHumorousSticksRapWitness
Book:The posthumous papers of the Pickwick Club
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“Indeed, it may be laid down as a general principle, that the more extended the ancestry, the greater the amount of violence and vagabondism; for in ancient days those two amusements, combining a wholesome excitement with a promising means of repairing shattered fortunes, were at once the ennobling pursuit and the healthful recreation of the Quality of this land.”

MayMeanTwoFunnyQualityPrinciplesGreaterViolenceLandAmountHumorousFortuneAncientPursuitExcitementAmusementShatteredRecreationAncestryCombiningRepairing
Book:The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
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“Although a man may lose a sense of his own importance when he is a mere unit among a busy throng, all utterly regardless of him, it by no means follows that he can dispossess himself, with equal facility, of a very strong sense of the importance and magnitude of his cares.”

MenMayMeanCareStrongLosesWords Of WisdomSolitudeEqualImportanceMereBusyCrowdsVery StrongUnitsFacilityMagnitude
Book:The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
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“An observer of men who finds himself steadily repelled by some apparently trifling thing in a stranger is right to give it great weight. It may be the clue to the whole mystery. A hair or two will show where a lion is hidden. A very little key will open a very heavy door.”

MenGivingMayLittlesTwoWholeShowsDoorsMysteryHairKeysWords Of WisdomWeightHeavyStrangerLionsClueObserversTrifling
Book:The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Other Stories
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“"As I think I told you once before," said I, "it is you who have been, in your greed and cunning, against all the world. It may be profitable to you to reflect, in future, that there never were greed and cunning in the world yet, that did not do too much, and overreach themselves. It is as certain as death."”

ThinkingWorldMayHas BeensSaidCertainToo MuchWords Of WisdomGreedCunningProfitable
Book:The Personal History of David Copperfield
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“I don't feel any vulgar gratitude to you[for helping me]. I almost feel as if You ought to be grateful to ME, for giving you the opportunity of enjoying the luxury of generosity. . . I may have come into the world expressly for the purpose of increasing your stock of happiness. I may have been born to be a benefactor to you, by giving you an opportunity of assisting me.”

IfsWorldGivingFeelsMayHas BeensHelpingPurposeOpportunityEnjoyBornOughtGratitudeGratefulLuxuryGenerosityBe GratefulVulgarBenefactorsAssisting
Book:Bleak House: Easyread Edition
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“Sir," returned Mrs. Sparsit, " I cannot say that i have heard him precisely snore, and therefore must not make that statement. But on winter evenings, when he has fallen asleep at his table, I have heard him, what I should prefer to describe as partially choke. I have heard him on such occasions produce sounds of a nature similar to what may be heard in dutch clocks. Not," said Mrs. Sparsit, with a lofty sense of giving strict evidence, " That I would convey any imputation on his moral character. Far from it.”

GivingShouldMaySaidCharacterSoundMoralHeardProduceEvidenceTablesWinterStatementsEveningOccasionsClockFallenStrictChokeLoftyDutchMoral Character
Book:Hard Times
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“There either is or is not, that’s the way things are. The colour of the day. The way it felt to be a child. The saltwater on your sunburnt legs. Sometimes the water is yellow, sometimes it’s red. But what colour it may be in memory, depends on the day. I’m not going to tell you the story the way it happened. I’m going to tell it the way I remember it.”

WayLifeMayChildrenSometimesStoriesRememberFeltWaterMemoriesHappenedDependsRedLegsColourYellow
Author:Charles Dickens
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“Before I go," he said, and paused -- "I may kiss her?" It was remembered afterwards that when he bent down and touched her face with his lips, he murmured some words. The child, who was nearest to him, told them afterwards, and told her grandchildren when she was a handsome old lady, that she heard him say, "A life you love.”

MayChildrenSaidFacesHeardKissingDown AndLipsRememberedTouchedBentGrandchildrenHandsomeOld LadyMade Me Cry
Book:a tale of two cities
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“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!”

IfsMenWellsMaySaidAliveTinyChristmasBlessPossessedGod BlessInspirational ChristmasChristmas DayCarolsBest ChristmasChristmas MagicHoliday TraditionsChristmas CarolChristmas GivingBelieving In ChristmasMemorable Christmas
Book:A Christmas Carol
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“I mean a man whose hopes and aims may sometimes lie (as most men's sometimes do, I dare say) above the ordinary level, but to whom the ordinary level will be high enough after all if it should prove to be a way of usefulness and good service leading to no other. All generous spirits are ambitious, I suppose, but the ambition that calmly trusts itself to such a road, instead of spasmodically trying to fly over it, is of the kind I care for.”

IfsMenWayShouldTryingKindMayMeanSometimesEnoughCareSpiritLyingLevelsProveAmbitionOrdinaryAimDareGenerousOver ItAmbitiousI CareUsefulnessGood ServiceGenerous Spirit
Book:Delphi Complete Works of Charles Dickens (Illustrated)
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“Oh! captive, bound, and double-ironed," cried the phantom, "not to know, that ages of incessant labour, by immortal creatures, for this earth must pass into eternity before the good of which it is susceptible is all developed. Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness. Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused!”

KnowsMayMeanLittlesAgeEarthChristianSpiritOpportunitySpaceRegretCreaturesEternityBoundsMortalsLabourImmortalSpheresCriedToo ShortUsefulnessPhantomsCaptivesSusceptibleIncessantAmendsMisusedLife Too Short
Book:Best Ghost Stories
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“Bleak, dark, and piercing cold, it was a night for the well-housed and fed to draw round the bright fire, and thank God they were at home; and for the homeless starving wretch to lay him down and die. Many hunger-worn outcasts close their eyes in our bare streets at such times, who, let their crimes have been what they may, can hardly open them in a more bitter world.”

WorldWellsMayHas BeensHomeEyeNightDiesDarkFireStreetsCrimeColdDrawsDown AndLaysRoundsHungerBitterFedsThank GodWornHomelessStarvingOutcastBleakPiercings
Book:Oliver Twist
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“So does a whole world, with all its greatnesses and littlenesses, lie in a twinkling star. And as mere human knowledge can split a ray of light and analyse the manner of its composition, so, sublimer intelligences may read in the feeble shining of this earth of ours, every thought and act, every vice and virtue, of every responsible creature on it.”

WorldInspirationalHumansMayDoeWholeLightEarthLyingStarsVirtueGreatnessCreaturesResponsibleShiningMereVicesWhole WorldRaysSplitsCompositionHuman KnowledgeTwinklingVice And VirtueRays Of LightTale Of Two CitiesTwinkling Stars
Book:A Tale of Two Cities: World Classics
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“If I may ride with you, Citizen Evremonde, will you let me hold your hand? I am not afraid, but I am little and weak, and it will give me more courage." As the patient eyes were lifted to his face, he saw a sudden doubt in them, and then astonishment. He pressed the work-worn, hunger-worn young fingers, and touched his lips. "Are you dying for him?" she whispered. "And his wife and child. Hush! Yes." "Oh, you will let me hold your brave hand, stranger?" "Hush! Yes, my poor sister; to the last.”

IfsGivingMayChildrenLittlesHandsEyeLastsFacesYoungPoorDoubtSawsWifeDyingCitizensWeakLet MeGive MeBraveFingersPatientLipsHungerStrangerTouchedNot AfraidWornAstonishmentHush
Author:Charles Dickens
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