Words of Wisdom: Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway is one of my favorite writers. His writing contains a simplicity, elegance and wisdom that has rarely been matched before or since: he is truly the great American writer. "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" is one of my favorite short stories, and a beautiful example of the profound power Hemingway is able to portray simply by revealing a small moment to the reader.

Hemingway's quotes share humor and truth, and wise insights on writing. Sometimes painfully true, sometimes good for a laugh, but always strong, and sure and brave.

"All good books have one thing in common - they are truer than if they had really happened."

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."

"Courage is grace under pressure."

"Cowardice... is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend functioning of the imagination."

"For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.'

"Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know."

"I know now that there is no one thing that is true - it is all true."

"The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists."

"I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?"

"If a writer knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one ninth of it being above water."

"My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way."

"Never confuse movement with action."

"Never go on trips with anyone you do not love."

"The shortest answer is doing the thing."

"That is what we are supposed to do when we are at our best - make it all up - but make it up so truly that later it will happen that way."

"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."

"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places."

"The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it."

"You're beautiful, like a May fly."