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Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens Quotes

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Famous Charles Dickens Quotes

“All is going on as it was wont. The waves are hoarse with repetition of their mystery; the dust lies piled upon the shore; the sea-birds soar and hover; the winds and clouds go forth upon their trackless flight; the white arms beckon, in the moonlight, to the invisible country far away.”

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Book:Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Export
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“There was a frosty rime upon the trees, which, in the faint light of the clouded moon, hung upon the smaller branches like dead garlands. Withered leaves crackled and snapped beneath his feet, as he crept softly on towards the house. The desolation of a winter night sat brooding on the earth, and in the sky. But, the red light came cheerily towards him from the windows; figures passed and repassed there; and the hum and murmur of voices greeted his ear sweetly.”

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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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“Huge knots of sea-weed hung upon the jagged and pointed stones, trembling in every breath of wind; and the green ivy clung mournfully round the dark and ruined battlements. Behind it rose the ancient castle, its towers roofless, and its massive walls crumbling away, but telling us proudly of its own might and strength, as when, seven hundred years ago, it rang with the clash of arms, or resounded with the noise of feasting and revelry.”

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Book:Charles Dickens: The Complete Christmas Novels & Tales (Illustrated): 30 Classics in One Volume: A Christmas Carol, The Battle of Life, The Chimes, Oliver Twist, Tom Tiddler's Ground, The Holly-Tree, Doctor Marigold, The Pickwick Papers, Great Expectations and more
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“Château and hut, stone face and dangling figure, the red stain on the stone floor, and the pure water in the village well-thousands of acres of land-a whole province of France-all France itself-lay under the night sky, concentrated into a faint hairbreadth line. So does a whole world, with all its greatnesses and littlenesses, lie in a twinkling star.”

WorldWellsDoeWholeFacesLyingNightStarsWaterNatureLinesSkyLandFiguresGreatnessPureRedStonesLaysWhole WorldFranceVillageProvincesStainsNight SkyAcresHutsTwinklingTale Of Two CitiesPure WaterTwinkling Stars
Book:A Tale of Two Cities (Illustrated)
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“I can see others in the sunlight; I can see our boats' crews and our athletic young men on the glistening water, or speckled with the moving lights of sunlit leaves; but I myself am always in the shadow looking on. Not unsympathetically, - God forbid! - but looking on alone, much as I looked at Sylvia from the shadows of the ruined house, or looked at the red gleam shining through the farmer's windows, and listened to the fall of dancing feet, when all the ruin was dark that night in the quadrangle.”

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Book:Hard Times (And Other Stories)
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“The rich, sweet smell of the hayricks rose to his chamber window; the hundred perfumes of the little flower-garden beneath scented the air around; the deep-green meadows shone in the morning dew that glistened on every leaf as it trembled in the gentle air: and the birds sang as if every sparkling drop were a fountain of inspiration to them.”

IfsLittlesInspirationNatureMorningRichAirSweetFlowerBirdHundredGardenWindowGreenRoseSmellGentleLeafsFountainPerfumeChamberDewMeadowsSparklingFlower GardenMorning Dew
Book:The posthumous papers of the Pickwick Club
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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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“He lowered the window, and looked out at the rising sun. There was a ridge of ploughed land, with a plough upon it where it had been left last night when the horses were unyoked; beyond, a quiet coppice-wood, in which many leaves of burning red and golden yellow still remained upon the trees. Though the earth was cold and wet, the sky was clear, and the sun rose bright, placid, and beautiful.”

StillsEarthLastsBeautifulNightLeftNatureSunClearTreeSkyLandColdQuietRedWindowHorseRoseWoodsGoldenBurningRisingYellowWetLast NightRidgesPlacid
Book:THE GREATEST DICKENS CLASSICS (Illustrated Edition): Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, Hard Times, David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Our Mutual Friend, The Life of Dickens
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“The bright, frosty day declined as they walked and spoke together. The sun dipped in the river far behind them, and the old city lay red before them, as their walk drew to a close. The moaning water cast its seaweed duskily at their feet, when they turned to leave its margin; and the rooks hovered above them with hoarse cries, darker splashes in the darkening air.”

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Book:The Mystery of Edwin Drood
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“Not only is the day waning, but the year. The low sun is fiery and yet cold behind the monastery ruin, and the Virginia creeper on the Cathedral wall has showered half its deep-red leaves down on the pavement. There has been rain this afternoon, and a wintry shudder goes among the little pools on the cracked, uneven flag-stones, and through the giant elm-trees as they shed a gust of tears.”

YearsLittlesHas BeensNatureBehindsHalfSunTreeTearsWallColdLowsRedRainStonesRuinsGiantsAfternoonPoolFlagsShedVirginiaCrackedCathedralsFieryPavementMonasteriesCreepersRed LeavesElm Trees
Book:The Complete Works of Charles Dickens: Edwin Drood and Miscellaneous
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“The white face of the winter day came sluggishly on, veiled in a frosty mist; and the shadowy ships in the river slowly changed to black substances; and the sun, blood-red on the eastern marshes behind dark masts and yards, seemed filled with the ruins of a forest it had set on fire.”

FacesBlackNatureDarkWhiteBehindsSunFireBloodChangedRedRiversFilledWinterForestsShipsRuinsSubstanceYardsEasternMistMarshesMastsWinter Days
Book:Our Mutual Friend
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“But, for all that, they had a very pleasant walk. The trees were bare of leaves, and the river was bare of water-lilies; but the sky was not bare of its beautiful blue, and the water reflected it, and a delicious wind ran with the stream, touching the surface crisply.”

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Book:Delphi Complete Works of Charles Dickens (Illustrated)
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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."”

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Book:The Charles Dickens Collection Volume One: Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and Bleak House
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“A moment, and its glory was no more. The sun went down beneath the long dark lines of hill and cloud which piled up in the west an airy city, wall heaped on wall, and battlement on battlement; the light was all withdrawn; the shining church turned cold and dark; the stream forgot to smile; the birds were silent; and the gloom of winter dwelt on everything.”

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Book:Martin Chuzzlewit
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“The evening wind made such a disturbance just now, among some tall old elm-trees at the bottom of the garden, that neither my mother nor Miss Betsey could forbear glancing that way. As the elms bent to one another, like giants who were whispering secrets, and after a few seconds of such repose, fell into a violent flurry, tossing their wild arms about, as if their late confidences were really too wicked for their peace of mind.”

IfsWayMindMadeMotherNatureSecretTreeMissingWindArmsLateGardenBottomViolentEveningGiantsWickedPeace Of MindTallSecondsBentReposeWhisperingDisturbanceElm Trees
Book:The Personal History of David Copperfield ... With Frontispiece by H. K. Browne
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“The earth covered with a sable pall as for the burial of yesterday; the clumps of dark trees, its giant plumes of funeral feathers, waving sadly to and fro: all hushed, all noiseless, and in deep repose, save the swift clouds that skim across the moon, and the cautious wind, as, creeping after them upon the ground, it stops to listen, and goes rustling on, and stops again, and follows, like a savage on the trail.”

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Book:The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
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“Upon the purple tree-tops far away, and on the green height near at hand up which the shades were slowly creeping, there was an equal hush. Between the real landscape and its shadow in the water, there was no division; both were so untroubled and clear, and, while so fraught with solemn mystery of life and death, so hopefully reassuring to the gazer's soothed heart, because so tenderly and mercifully beautiful.”

HeartRealHandsBeautifulWaterNatureClearMysteryTreeEqualShadowGreenHopefullyLandscapeHeightLife And DeathDivisionShadeFar AwayPurpleSolemnHushReassuringMystery Of LifeHands UpTree Tops
Book:The Works of Charles Dickens: Little Dorrit
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“If Natur has gifted a man with powers of argeyment, a man has a right to make the best of 'em, and has not a right to stand on false delicacy, and deny that he is so gifted; for that is a turning of his back on Natur, a flouting of her, a slighting of her precious caskets, and a proving of one's self to be a swine that isn't worth her scattering pearls before.”

IfsMenSelfNatureProveDenyEmsGiftedPearlsDelicacySwineCaskets
Book:Barnaby Rudge ... With a frontispiece drawn by Hablot Knight Browne, etc
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“But the moon came slowly up in all her gentle glory, and the stars looked out, and through the small compass of the grated window, as through the narrow crevice of one good deed in a murky life of guilt, the face of Heaven shone bright and merciful. He raised his head; gazed upward at the quiet sky, which seemed to smile upon the earth in sadness, as if the night, more thoughtful than the day, looked down in sorrow on the sufferings and evil deeds of men; and felt its peace sink deep into his heart.”

IfsMenHeartEarthFacesNightSufferingEvilHeavenStarsFeltNatureSadnessSkySorrowQuietMoonGloryWindowGuiltRaisedDeedsGentleThoughtfulGood DeedsCompassMercifulCrevice
Book:Barnaby Rudge, And, Hard Times: With Ten Illustrations
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“Heaven above was blue, and earth beneath was green; the river glistened like a path of diamonds in the sun; the birds poured forth their songs from the shady trees; the lark soared high above the waving corn; and the deep buzz of insects filled the air.”

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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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“In this way they went on, and on, and on-in the language of the story-books-until at last the village lights appeared before them, and the church spire cast a long reflection on the graveyard grass; as if it were a dial (alas, the truest in the world!) marking, whatever light shone out of Heaven, the flight of days and weeks and years, by some new shadow on that solemn ground.”

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Book:Works of Charles Dickens
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“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”

LightLiteratureNatureSunWindColdSummerSpringExpectationsHotShiningWinterBlowAutumnMarchShadeSpringtimeGreat ExpectationsSun ShinesSpring PoemsSummer DaysSpring SeasonWinter DaysSpring DaySpring InspirationalWind BlowingWinter To SpringWinter ColdWinter TimeSummer SunFirst Day Of SpringWelcome SpringHot DaysSummer And WinterCold DaysFunny WinterGreat Expectations ImportantSpring SummerHot SummerSpringtime InspirationalMarch PoemsWinter LoveCold WindHappy SpringHot SunSummer Wind
Book:Great Expectations: Classic English Literature
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“Look round and round upon this bare bleak plain, and see even here, upon a winter's day, how beautiful the shadows are! Alas! It is the nature of their kind to be so. The loveliest things in life... are but shadows; and they come and go, and change and fade away, as rapidly as these.”

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Book:The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
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“It was one of those hot, silent nights, when people sit at windows listening for the thunder which they know will shortly break; when they recall dismal tales of hurricanes and earthquakes; and of lonely travellers on open plains, and lonely ships at sea, struck by lightning.”

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Book:Martin Chuzzlewit
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“The wide stare stared itself out for one while; the Sun went down in a red, green, golden glory; the stars came out in the heavens, and the fire-flies mimicked them in the lower air, as men may feebly imitate the goodness of a better order of beings; the long dusty roads and the interminable plains were in repose-and so deep a hush was on the sea, that it scarcely whispered of the time when it shall give up its dead.”

MenGivingMayLongOrderHeavenStarsNatureSunFireAirSeaGoodnessGiving UpGloryRedGreenWideGoldenStaringSailorReposeHushRed Green
Book:LITTLE DORRIT
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“The night crept on apace, the moon went down, the stars grew pale and dim, and morning, cold as they, slowly approached. Then, from behind a distant hill, the noble sun rose up, driving the mists in phantom shapes before it, and clearing the earth of their ghostly forms till darkness came again.”

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Book:A Cyclopedia of the Best Thoughts of Charles Dickens
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“His gaze wandered from the windows to the stars, as if he would have read in them something that was hidden from him. Many of us would, if we could; but none of us so much as know our letters in the stars yet - or seem likely to do it, in this state of existence - and few languages can be read until their alphabets are mastered.”

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Book:The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Other Pieces
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“Day was breaking at Plashwater Weir Mill Lock. Stars were yet visible, but there was dull light in the east that was not the light of night. The moon had gone down, and a mist crept along the banks of the river, seen through which the trees were the ghosts of trees, and the water was the ghost of water. This earth looked spectral, and so did the pale stars: while the cold eastern glare, expressionless as to heat or colour, with the eye of the firmament quenched, might have been likened to the stare of the dead.”

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Book:A Cyclopedia of the Best Thoughts of Charles Dickens
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“It was a murky confusion — here and there blotted with a color like the color of the smoke from damp fuel — of flying clouds tossed up into most remarkable heaps, suggesting greater heights in the clouds than there were depths below them to the bottom of the deepest hollows in the earth, through which the wild moon seemed to plunge headlong, as if, in a dread disturbance of the laws of nature, she had lost her way and were frightened.”

IfsWayEarthLawLostNatureGreaterColorMoonDepthBottomCloudsFlyingConfusionSmokeHeightFuelRemarkableFrightenedDreadLaws Of NatureHere And TherePlungeSuggestingDisturbanceDampGreater Heights
Book:The Personal History of David Copperfield0: In Three Volumes
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