68 Quotes by James Stephens

It is by love alone that we understand anything

The duty of a lyrical poet is not to express or explain, it is to intensify life.

I hear a sudden cry of pain! There is a rabbit in a snare.

Can a spear divine the Eternal Will?

I came to the resolve that the attempt was not only worth trying, but should be tried in the very near future if we wanted at all to keep our flag flying; for I was sure as of my own existence that if another decade was allowed to pass without an endeavour of some kind or another to shake off an unjust yoke, the Irish people would sink into lethargy from which it would be impossible for any patriot . . . to arouse them . . .

My three-thousand mile walk through Ireland convinced me of one thing - the possibility of organising a proper movement for the independence of my native land.

Is it not possible that the ultimate end is gaiety and music and a dance of joy?

I would think Until I found Something I can never find; - Something Lying On the ground, In the bottom Of my mind.

Because our lives are cowardly and sly, Because we do not dare to take or give, Because we scowl and pass each other by, We do not live; we do not dare to live.