Home / Authors / William McFee

William McFee Quotes

Writer

William McFee, born on June 15, 1881, was a renowned Scottish writer. His works spanned various genres, including novels, plays, and poetry. McFee is known for his unique literary style and profound insights into social issues.

Filter quotes by topic

All Men Ifs May Pleasure World Artist Born Deserted Destiny Emotional

Famous William McFee Quotes

“That is my rule of life. If fate means you to lose, give him a good fight anyhow. Do you remember Henley's magnificent lines? 'Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.' ? That is my gospel. What do you think of it?”

Author:William McFee

“There is a pleasure unknown to the landsman in reading at sea.”

Reading Pleasure Sea

Book:Harbours of Memory

Source: Harbours of Memory

“There are some men whom a staggering emotional shock, so far from making them mental invalids for life, seems, on the other hand, to awaken, to galvanize, to arouse into an almost incredible activity of soul.”

Men Soul Hands Seems Emotional Activity Incredibles Shock Staggering

Book:Harbours of Memory

Source: Harbours of Memory

“The artist isn't particularly keen on getting a thing done, as you call it. He gets his pleasure out of doing it, playing with it, fooling with it, if you like. The mere completion of it is an incident.”

Ifs Art Done Artist Pleasure Mere Incidents Things Done Completion

Book:Harbours of Memory

Source: Harbours of Memory

“Woman dwell always in the palace of unpalatable truth and never by any chance is there a magic talisman to save them from their destiny. Speech is their ultimate need. We men exist for them only in so far as we can be described.”

Men Needs Chance Destiny Magic Speech Ultimate Palaces Chances Are Talismans

Book:Harbours of Memory

Source: Harbours of Memory

“People don't ever seem to realize that doing what's right, writes no guarantee against misfortune.”

People Writing Seems Realizing Failure Guarantees Misfortunes

Author:William McFee

“One must choose between obscurity with efficiency, and fame with its inevitable collateral of bluff.”

Fame Reputation Inevitable Efficiency Obscurity Collateral Bluffs Collateral Damage

Book:Harbours of Memory

Source: Harbours of Memory

“Responsibility's like a string we can only see the middle of. Both ends are out of sight.”

Ends Responsibility Middle Ethics Sight Strings

Author:William McFee

“A young man must let his ideas grow, not be continually rooting them up to see how they are getting on.”

Men Ideas Young Grows Young Man Incubation

Author:William McFee

“It is extraordinary how many emotional storms one may weather in safety if one is ballasted with ever so little gold.”

Ifs May Littles Emotional Gold Safety Extraordinary Storm Weather

Book:Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

Source: Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

“The world belongs to the Enthusiast who keeps cool.”

World Life Attitude Travel Tranquility Calmness Peace And Tranquility

Book:Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

Source: Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

“A trouble is a trouble, and the general idea, in the country, is to treat it as such, rather than to snatch the knotted cords from the hand of God and deal out murderous blows.”

Ideas Country Hands Deals Trouble Treats Blow Cords Hands Of God

Book:Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

Source: Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

“The world is not interested in the storms you encountered, but did you bring in the ship?”

World Inspirational Courage Storm Ships Not Interested

Author:William McFee

“There is nothing like an odor to stir memories.”

Memories Good Memories Odor

Author:William McFee

“If fate means you to lose, give him a good fight anyhow.”

Ifs Giving Mean Fighting Loses Destiny Fate Your Destiny My Destiny Fate Destiny Good Fight Fate And Destiny

Book:Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

Source: Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

“The artist in his teens who is happy is a charlatan. Life comes bursting in all around lis too suddenly, too crudely, too cruelly, for happiness.”

Artist Teens Bursting Charlatans

Author:William McFee

“Fear, born of the stern matron Responsibility, sits on one's shoulders like some heavy imp of darkness, and one is preoccupied and, possibly, cantankerous.”

Born Responsibility Darkness Anxiety Heavy Shoulders

Book:Harbours of Memory

Source: Harbours of Memory

“There is nothing like a start, and being born, however pessimistic one may become in later years, is undeniably a start.”

Years May Born Birth Pessimistic

Book:Harbours of Memory

Source: Harbours of Memory

“An Englishman never takes his collar off when he is writing. How can you expect him to show you his soul?”

Writing Soul Shows Englishmen Collars

Book:Harbours of Memory

Source: Harbours of Memory

“Wives invariably flourish when deserted; ... it is the deserting male, the reckless idealist rushing about the world seeking a non-existent felicity, who often ends in disaster.”

World Ends Wife Males Seeking Disaster Infidelity Reckless Rushing Idealist Felicity Deserted

Author:William McFee

“The worldly relations of men and women often form an equation that cancels out without warning when some insignificant factor has been added to either side.”

Men Has Beens Form Sides Men And Women Relation Factors Warning Worldly Equations Insignificant

Book:Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

Source: Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

“The wives who are not deserted, but who have to feed and clothe and comfort and scold and advise, are the true objects of commiseration; wives whose existence is given over to a ceaseless vigil of cantankerous affection.”

Given Existence Marriage Wife Objects Comfort Affection Advise Deserted

Book:Harbours of Memory

Source: Harbours of Memory

“It may be that, while we plodding realists go on, for ever preoccupied with our daily chores, abstracting a microscopic pleasure from each microscopic duty, your true romantic has the truer vision, and beholds, afar off, in all its lurid splendour and terrible proportions, the piquant adventure we call life.”

May Pleasure Vision Adventure Duty Goes On Terrible Romantic Proportion Realist Chores Afar Splendour

Book:Harbours of Memory

Source: Harbours of Memory

“It is so much easier to tell intimate things in the dark.”

Dark Easier Intimate

Book:Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

Source: Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

“There is far too much talk of love and grief benumbing the faculties, turning the hair gray, and destroying a man's interest in his work. Grief has made many a man look younger.”

Men Looks Made Interest Grief Too Much Hair Sorrow Faculty Gray Destroying

Book:Harbours of Memory

Source: Harbours of Memory

“Terrible and sublime thought, that every moment is supreme for some man and woman, every hour the apotheosis of some passion!”

Men Moments Passion Hours Terrible Men And Women Supreme Sublime Apotheosis

Book:Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

Source: Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a Soul

About the Author

Born: June 15, 1881
Died: July 2, 1966
Known for: Writer
Quotes: 26

Related Topics

Men Ifs May Pleasure World Artist Born Deserted Destiny Emotional

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Harbours of MemoryRelated source material

Casuals of the Sea: The Voyage of a SoulRelated source material

Similar Authors

Samuel JohnsonBrowse related quotes
Anthony TrollopeBrowse related quotes
Jean de la BruyereBrowse related quotes
SophoclesBrowse related quotes
Thomas CarlyleBrowse related quotes
Joseph AddisonBrowse related quotes
Gilbert K. ChestertonBrowse related quotes
Honore de BalzacBrowse related quotes
Michel de MontaigneBrowse related quotes
Laurence SterneBrowse related quotes