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Over 100 Inspiring Ernest Hemingway Quotes for Every Occasion
In the tapestry of literature, Ernest Hemingway's words weave threads of unfiltered emotions and raw human experiences. This article delves into the enduring wisdom and candid realism found in Hemingway's quotes, categorized under ten distinct themes. Each section offers a trove of his remarkable insights, ranging from love and life to courage and solitude. These kernels of truth serve as both inspiration and reflection, illuminating the complex dance of existence. As you journey through these curated captions, may you find echoes of Hemingway's indomitable spirit inspiring your own path.
Quotes on Love
"But we could have, when love was simple, have had a wonderful time."
"If two people love each other, there can be no happy end to it."
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places."
"I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?”
"You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another."
"Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when the ocean can be so cruel?"
"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."
"Never to go on trips with anyone you do not love."
"Wine is the most civilized thing in the world."
"Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know."
"I didn’t want to kiss you goodbye — that was the trouble — I wanted to kiss you good night."
"In order to write about life first you must live it."
Quotes on Life
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self."
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places."
"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another."
"When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen."
"Courage is grace under pressure."
"The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too."
"All things truly wicked start from innocence."
"You are so brave and quiet, I forget you are suffering."
"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master."
"No one you love is ever truly lost."
"There is no friend as loyal as a book."
Quotes on Courage
"Courage is grace under pressure."
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."
"But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated."
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places."
"The only thing that can ruin a good day is people."
"You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another."
"I’m not brave any more darling. I’m all broken. They’ve broken me."
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but simply moving on with dignity despite that fear."
"You must be prepared to work always without applause."
"You are so brave and quiet. I forget you are suffering."
"Never mistake motion for action."
"All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened."
Quotes on Loneliness
"The real reason for not committing suicide is because you always know how swell life gets again after the hell is over."
"We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept well and warm together and loved each other."
"No matter how a man alone ain't got no bloody chance."
"There is no loneliness like that of a failed marriage."
"The loneliness came from not traveling in a straight line."
"When you start to live outside yourself, it's all dangerous."
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve."
"I have learned never to empty a mind of hope with works."
"I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen."
"Retirement is the ugliest word in the language."
"The sun also rises."
"We are all broken - that's how the light gets in."
Quotes on Writing
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master."
"Write hard and clear about what hurts."
"I write one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket."
"In order to write about life first you must live it."
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self."
"All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know."
"There's no one thing that's true. It's all true."
"Prose is architecture, not interior decoration."
"A writer should write what he has to say and not speak it."
"The first draft of anything is shit."
"All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened."
Quotes on Travel
"Never go on trips with anyone you do not love."
"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them."
"In Europe, we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also a great giver of happiness and well-being and delight."
"All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn."
"Don't bother with churches, government buildings or city squares. If you want to know about a culture, spend a night in its bars."
"If you want to know a culture, listen to its music."
"There is no travel quite like seeing the world from a bicycle, both physically and mentally."
"Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself."
"The best journeys answer questions that in the beginning you didn't even think to ask."
"Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you."
"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."
"A farewell is necessary before you can meet again."
Quotes on War
"In modern war... you will die like a dog for no good reason."
"Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime."
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
"You must be prepared to work always without applause."
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places."
"They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason."
"All thinking men are atheists."
"You cannot stop trusting people in life but I have learned to be a little more careful."
"We ate well and cheaply and drank well."
"All stories, if continued far enough, end in death."
"A man can be destroyed but not defeated."
"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another."
Quotes on Strength
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places."
"But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated."
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self."
"You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another."
"Courage is grace under pressure."
"Strength of character may be learned at work, but beauty of character is learned at home."
"A man is never lost at sea."
"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another."
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."
"You are so brave and quiet, I forget you are suffering."
"No one you love is ever truly lost."
"In modern war... you will die like a dog for no good reason."
Quotes on Humanity
"There is no friend as loyal as a book."
"I drink to make other people more interesting."
"The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too."
"The real reason for not committing suicide is because you always know how swell life gets again after the hell is over."
"I can't stand it to think my life is going so fast and I'm not really living it."
"You know it makes one feel rather good deciding not to be a bitch."
"I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?"
"How little we know of what there is to know."
"All things truly wicked start from innocence."
"One cat just leads to another."
"Wine is the most civilized thing in the world."
"No one you love is ever truly lost."
Quotes on Nature
"But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated."
"The real reason for not committing suicide is because you always know how swell life gets again after the hell is over."
"I didn’t want to kiss you goodbye — that was the trouble — I wanted to kiss you goodnight."
"Retirement is the ugliest word in the language."
"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."
"When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest."
"You are so brave and quiet, I forget you are suffering."
"I know now that there is no one thing that is true - it is all true."
"How little we know of what there is to know."
"There is no friend as loyal as a book."
"The sun also rises."
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."
Final words
Ernest Hemingway's legacy lies not only in his remarkable storytelling but also in the deep resonance of his words that linger far beyond the pages of his books. Through this collection of quotes, we glimpse the richness of his thoughts on love, life, courage, and the human condition. Each quote serves as a reminder of the interconnectedness of our experiences, mirroring the triumphs and tribulations we face in our paths. Hemingway's understanding of the human spirit reveals both our fragility and our resilience. Whether you are seeking profound reflections or compelling captions, may these words inspire introspection and a renewed appreciation for the intricate journey of life.
Explore over 100 of the most inspiring and insightful quotes by Ernest Hemingway. Perfect for writers, thinkers, and fans of classic literature seeking motivation and wisdom from one of history's greatest authors.
