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Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane Quotes

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Stephen Crane was a prominent American author of the late 19th century, known for his realistic style and profound portrayals of war and poverty. His most famous work, 'The Red Badge of Courage,' is considered one of the greatest war novels in American literary history.

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All Men Said Lying Universe Hands Saws Heart Kind Littles War Cried Facts Ifs Knows Life Long Sea Sky Stephen Crane Babe

Famous Stephen Crane Quotes

“Unwind my riddle.Cruel as hawks the hours fly;Wounded men seldom come home to die;The hard waves see an arm flung high;Scorn hits strong because of a lie;Yet there exists a mystic tie.Unwind my riddle.”

Men Hard Home Lying Dies Strong Hours Arms Wave Ties Coming Home Wounded Scorn Mystic Riddle Hawks Unwind

Book:Wounds in the Rain

Source: Wounds in the Rain

“The word is clear only to the kind who on peak or plain, from dark northern ice-fields to the hot wet jungles, through all wine and want, through lies and unfamiliar truth, dark or light, are governed by the unknown gods, and though each man knows the law, no man may give tongue to it.”

Knows Men Want Giving Kind May Light Law Lying Dark Clear Fields Hot Wine Tongue Ice Wet Jungle Unfamiliar

Book:Stories from the War (Annotated Edition)

Source: Stories from the War (Annotated Edition)

“I saw a man pursuing the horizon;Round and round they sped.I was disturbed at this;I accosted the man."It is futile," I said,"You can never-""You lie," he cried,And ran on.”

Men Said Lying Saws He Man Rounds Ran Horizon Cried Disturbed Sped

Book:War Is Kind and Other Poems

Source: War Is Kind and Other Poems

“Swift blazing flag of the regiment,Eagle with crest of red and gold,These men were born to drill and die.Point for them the virtue of slaughter,Make plain to them the excellence of killingAnd a field where a thousand corpses lie.”

Men Lying Dies Born Virtue Fields Thousand Red Gold Excellence Flags Eagles Corpses Slaughter Drills Blazing

Book:The Red Badge of Courage and Other Stories

Source: The Red Badge of Courage and Other Stories

“A little man said to the Universe. "Sir! I exist." The Universe replied: "That's fine." Just don't think it creates any obligation on my part.”

Thinking Men Littles Said Universe Fine Obligation Little Man

Author:Stephen Crane

“A MAN FEARED A man feared that he might find an assassin; Another that he might find a victim. One was more wise than the other.”

Men Might Wise Victim Assassins

Book:War Is Kind and Other Poems

Source: War Is Kind and Other Poems

“When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and he hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples.”

Men Feels Firsts Doe Important Facts Hate Universe Wish Regard Environmental Temples Bricks Naturalism

Book:The Red Badge of Courage and Other Stories

Source: The Red Badge of Courage and Other Stories

“A man said to the universe: 'Sir, I exist!' 'However,' replied the universe. 'The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.”

Men Said Facts Funny Political Purpose Universe Obligation

Author:Stephen Crane

“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.”

Ifs Men World Has Beens Said Might Literature Nations Written Worthless

Book:Stephen Crane in the West and Mexico

Source: Stephen Crane in the West and Mexico

“It was not well to drive men into final corners; at those moments they could all develop teeth and claws.”

Men Wells Moments Finals Corners Teeth Claws

Book:The Red Badge of Courage

Source: The Red Badge of Courage

“Think as I think," said a man, "or you are abominably wicked; you are a toad." And after I thought of it, I said, "I will, then, be a toad.”

Thinking Men Said Wicked Toads

Author:Stephen Crane

“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 we Where 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.”

Knows Men Way Said Hands Eye Together Lasts Lost Feet My Friends Useless Cried Overjoyed

Book:War Is Kind and Other Poems

Source: War Is Kind and Other Poems

“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.”

Men Kind Littles War Soul Hands Lying Dies Fighting Born Sky Fields Lovers Battle Thousand Glory Kingdoms Ran Thirst Corpses Babe Maidens Drills Unexplained

Book:War Is Kind

Source: War Is Kind

“The man had arrived at that stage of drunkenness where affection is felt for the universe.”

Men Universe Felt Stage Affection Drunkenness

Book:The Color of the Sky: A Study of Stephen Crane

Source: The Color of the Sky: A Study of Stephen Crane

“Tell her this And more,— That the king of the seas Weeps too, old, helpless man. The bustling fates Heap his hands with corpses Until he stands like a child With surplus of toys.”

Men Children Hands Fate Sea Kings Toys Helpless Corpses Surplus

Book:Prose and poetry

Source: Prose and poetry

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

Men Black White Land Scene Mountain Fats Prophet Cried Grey Woe Complacent Mountain Top Fat Man

Book:War Is Kind

Source: War Is Kind

“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.”

Men Should Firsts Tree Serious Prophet Climbs Flood Predicting Seers

Book:The Red Badge of Courage

Source: The Red Badge of Courage

“A man with a full stomach and the respect of his fellows had no business to scold about anything that he might think to be wrong in the ways of the universe, or even with the ways of society. Let the unfortunates rail; the others may play marbles.”

Thinking Men Way May Play Might Universe Fellows Stomach Marble Rail

Book:The Red Badge of Courage and Other Stories

Source: The Red Badge of Courage and Other Stories

“I saw a man pursuing the horizon”

Men Saws Horizon Disturbed

Book:War Is Kind and Other Poems

Source: War Is Kind and Other Poems

“When it came night, the white waves paced to and fro in the moonlight, and the wind brought the sound of the great sea's voice to the men on shore, and they felt that they could then be interpreters.”

Men Night Felt Sound Voice White Sea He Man Wind Wave Shore Moonlight Interpreter

Book:The Color of the Sky: A Study of Stephen Crane

Source: The Color of the Sky: A Study of Stephen Crane

“Such an assemblage of the spraddle-legged men of the middle class, whose hands were bent and shoulders stooped from delving and constructing, had never appeared to an Asbury Park summer crowd, and the latter was vaguely amused.”

Men Hands Class Middle Summer Crowds Shoulders Parks Latter Middle Class Bent Amused Assemblage Delving

Book:Prose and poetry

Source: Prose and poetry

“Tradition, thou art for suckling children, Thou art the enlivening milk for babes, But no meat for men is in thee.”

Men Children Art Tradition Thee Meat Milk Babe

Book:Whilomville stories. The black riders, and other lines

Source: Whilomville stories. The black riders, and other lines

About the Author

Born: November 1, 1871
Died: June 5, 1900
Known for: Author
Quotes: 76

Related Topics

Men Said Lying Universe Hands Saws Heart Kind Littles War Cried Facts Ifs Knows Life Long Sea Sky Stephen Crane Babe

Popular Topics

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Books & Sources

War Is Kind and Other PoemsRelated source material

Prose and poetryRelated source material

The Red Badge of CourageRelated source material

War Is KindRelated source material

Open BoatRelated source material

The Black Riders and Other LinesRelated source material

The Color of the Sky: A Study of Stephen CraneRelated source material

The Open Boat and Other StoriesRelated source material

The Red Badge of Courage and Other StoriesRelated source material

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets & Other StoriesRelated source material

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