The quotations of

Edith Wharton

American writer and designer

1862–1937

16 quotes, most often on Love, Freedom and Life & Death.

There are two ways of spreading light⁠—to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
“Vesalius in Zante (1564)”, in North American Review (November 1902), p. 631
No insect hangs its nest on threads as frail as those which will sustain the weight of human vanity.
The House of Mirth (1905), ch. X, pg. 69In context
- Pride
Mrs. Ballinger is one of the ladies who pursue Culture in bands, as though it were dangerous to meet it alone.
“Xingu” (1911), from Xingu and Other Stories (1916)
- Clever Jabs
True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.
The Writing of Fiction (1925), ch. I
- Art
- Ideas
I have never known a novel that was good enough to be good in spite of its being adapted to the author’s political views.
Letter to Upton Sinclair (19 August 1927)
- Politics
- Writing
Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive.
A Backward Glance (1934), “A First Word”
- Change
The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it.
The House of Mirth (1905), bk.1, ch. 6In context
- Money
The worst of doing one’s duty was that it apparently unfitted one for doing anything else.
The Age of Innocence (1920), Ch. 34In context
- Responsibility
An unalterable and unquestioned law of the musical world required that the German text of French operas sung by Swedish artists should be translated into Italian for the clearer understanding of English-speaking audiences.
The Age of Innocence (1920), Book I, Chapter IIn context
- Comedy
- Music
I can’t love you unless I give you up.
The Age of Innocence (1920), Book I, Chapter XVIIIIn context
- Love
It was the old New York way of taking life “without effusion of blood”: the way of people who dreaded scandal more than disease, who placed decency above courage, and who considered that nothing was more ill-bred than “scenes,” except the behaviour of those who gave rise to them.
The Age of Innocence (1920), Book II, Chapter XXXIIIIn context
- Character
- Courage
I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.
Ethan Frome (1911), PrologueIn context
- Truth & Lies
She was so evidently the victim of the civilization which had produced her, that the links of her bracelet seemed like manacles chaining her to her fate.
The House of Mirth (1905), Book One, Chapter 1In context
- Freedom
To keep a kind of republic of the spirit⁠—that’s what I call success.
The House of Mirth (1905), Book One, Chapter 6In context
- Freedom
- Success
He knelt by the bed and bent over her, draining their last moment to its lees; and in the silence there passed between them the word which made all clear.
The House of Mirth (1905), Book Two, Chapter 14In context
- Life & Death
- Love

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