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Quote by Bret Harte

Work

Poetical Works, Complete: Top American Novelist

The volume compiles a comprehensive selection of poems from the author, offering insight into their literary contributions and the evolution of their poetic voice throughout their career. more

Author

Bret Harte
Bret Harte

Bret Harte was an American author born on August 25, 1836, and died on May 6, 1902. He is known for his short stories and poetry, particularly for his depictions of the California Gold Rush. more

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“People who know little are usually great talkers, while men who know much say little. It is plain that an ignorant person thinks everything he does know important, and he tells it to everybody. But a well-educated man is not so ready to display his learning; he would have too much to say, and he sees that there is much more to be said, so he holds his peace.”

“Our passions are the chief means of self-preservation; to try to destroy them is therefore as absurd as it is useless; this would be to overcome nature, to reshape God's handiwork. If God bade man annihilate the passions he has given him, God would bid him be and not be; He would contradict himself. He has never given such a foolish commandment, there is nothing like it written on the heart of man, and what God will have a man do, He does not leave to the words of another man. He speaks Himself; His words are written in the secret heart.”