Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

107 Quotes By D. H. Lawrence, The Man Of Letters

Famous As: English Writer and Poet Known for His Novels: ‘Sons and Lovers’, ‘The Rainbow’ and ‘Women in Love’
Born On: September 11, 1885
Died On: March 2, 1930
Born In: Eastwood, England, United Kingdom
Died At Age: 44
D. H. Lawrence was prolific English poet and writer. In his writings, he explored issues like emotional health, instinct, vitality, sexuality, and spontaneity. He is renowned for a number of novels, including ‘Women in Love,’ ‘Sons and Lovers,’ ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover,’ and ‘The Rainbow.’ In these books his thoughts revolved around exploring the possibilities for life within industrial setting. He is also known for short stories which include, ‘The Virgin and the Gypsy,’ ‘The Captain's Doll,’ ‘St Mawr,’ ‘Odour of Chrysanthemums,’ ‘The Rocking-Horse Winner,’ ‘The Fox,’ ‘The Princess,’ ‘The Ladybird,’ and ‘The Woman who Rode Away.’ Let us browse through the compilation of quotes and sayings by D. H. Lawrence which have been excerpted from his writings, novels, poetry, thoughts, short stories, works and life.
Listed In:
The human being is a most curious creature. He thinks he has got one soul, and he has got dozens.

The human being is a most curious creature. He thinks he has got one soul, and he has got dozens.

D. H. Lawrence
The proper study of mankind is man in his relation to his deity.

The proper study of mankind is man in his relation to his deity.

D. H. Lawrence
They say geniuses mostly have great mothers. They mostly have sad fates.

They say geniuses mostly have great mothers. They mostly have sad fates.

D. H. Lawrence
The soul is a very perfect judge of her own motions, if your mind doesn't dictate to her.

The soul is a very perfect judge of her own motions, if your mind doesn't dictate to her.

D. H. Lawrence
One never can know the whys and the wherefores of one's passional changes.

One never can know the whys and the wherefores of one's passional changes.

D. H. Lawrence
Men always do leave off really thinking, when the last bit of wild animal dies in them.

Men always do leave off really thinking, when the last bit of wild animal dies in them.

D. H. Lawrence
All vital truth contains the memory of all that for which it is not true.

All vital truth contains the memory of all that for which it is not true.

D. H. Lawrence
So long as you don't feel life's paltry and a miserable business, the rest doesn't matter, happiness or unhappiness.

So long as you don't feel life's paltry and a miserable business, the rest doesn't matter, happiness or unhappiness.

D. H. Lawrence
Ours is an excessively conscious age. We know so much, we feel so little.

Ours is an excessively conscious age. We know so much, we feel so little.

D. H. Lawrence
Nothing that comes from the deep, passional soul is bad, or can be bad.

Nothing that comes from the deep, passional soul is bad, or can be bad.

D. H. Lawrence
The day of the absolute is over, and we're in for the strange gods once more.

The day of the absolute is over, and we're in for the strange gods once more.

D. H. Lawrence
There is no such thing as liberty. You only change one sort of domination for another. All we can do is to choose our master.

There is no such thing as liberty. You only change one sort of domination for another. All we can do is to choose our master.

D. H. Lawrence
Don't be on the side of the angels, it's too lowering.

Don't be on the side of the angels, it's too lowering.

D. H. Lawrence
The novel is the highest form of human expression so far attained. Why? Because it is so incapable of the absolute.

The novel is the highest form of human expression so far attained. Why? Because it is so incapable of the absolute.

D. H. Lawrence
California is a queer place in a way, it has turned its back on the world, and looks into the void Pacific. It is absolutely selfish, very empty, but not false, and at least, not full of false effort.

California is a queer place in a way, it has turned its back on the world, and looks into the void Pacific. It is absolutely selfish, very empty, but not false, and at least, not full of false effort.

D. H. Lawrence
Having achieved and accomplished love... man... has become himself, his tale is told.

Having achieved and accomplished love... man... has become himself, his tale is told.

D. H. Lawrence
Death is the only pure, beautiful conclusion of a great passion.

Death is the only pure, beautiful conclusion of a great passion.

D. H. Lawrence
God doesn't know things. He is things.

God doesn't know things. He is things.

D. H. Lawrence
Sentimentalism is the working off on yourself of feelings you haven't really got.

Sentimentalism is the working off on yourself of feelings you haven't really got.

D. H. Lawrence
We have to hate our immediate predecessors to get free of their authority.

We have to hate our immediate predecessors to get free of their authority.

D. H. Lawrence
The refined punishments of the spiritual mode are usually much more indecent and dangerous than a good smack.

The refined punishments of the spiritual mode are usually much more indecent and dangerous than a good smack.

D. H. Lawrence
The one woman who never gives herself is your free woman, who is always giving herself.

The one woman who never gives herself is your free woman, who is always giving herself.

D. H. Lawrence
The mind can assert anything and pretend it has proved it. My beliefs I test on my body, on my intuitional consciousness, and when I get a response there, then I accept.

The mind can assert anything and pretend it has proved it. My beliefs I test on my body, on my intuitional consciousness, and when I get a response there, then I accept.

D. H. Lawrence
Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.

Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.

D. H. Lawrence
Only in a novel are all things given full play.

Only in a novel are all things given full play.

D. H. Lawrence
One sheds one's sicknesses in books - repeats and presents again one's emotions, to be master of them.

One sheds one's sicknesses in books - repeats and presents again one's emotions, to be master of them.

D. H. Lawrence
One can no longer live with people: it is too hideous and nauseating. Owners and owned, they are like the two sides of a ghastly disease.

One can no longer live with people: it is too hideous and nauseating. Owners and owned, they are like the two sides of a ghastly disease.

D. H. Lawrence
Loud peace propaganda makes war seem imminent.

Loud peace propaganda makes war seem imminent.

D. H. Lawrence
It is so much more difficult to live with one's body than with one's soul. One's body is so much more exacting: what it won't have it won't have, and nothing can make bitter into sweet.

It is so much more difficult to live with one's body than with one's soul. One's body is so much more exacting: what it won't have it won't have, and nothing can make bitter into sweet.

D. H. Lawrence
I shall be glad when you have strangled the invincible respectability that dogs your steps.

I shall be glad when you have strangled the invincible respectability that dogs your steps.

D. H. Lawrence
I hold that the parentheses are by far the most important parts of a non-business letter.

I hold that the parentheses are by far the most important parts of a non-business letter.

D. H. Lawrence
I can't bear art that you can walk round and admire. A book should be either a bandit or a rebel or a man in the crowd.

I can't bear art that you can walk round and admire. A book should be either a bandit or a rebel or a man in the crowd.

D. H. Lawrence
The great mass of humanity should never learn to read or write.

The great mass of humanity should never learn to read or write.

D. H. Lawrence
Literature is a toil and a snare, a curse that bites deep.

Literature is a toil and a snare, a curse that bites deep.

D. H. Lawrence
My God, these folks don't know how to love - that's why they love so easily.

My God, these folks don't know how to love - that's why they love so easily.

D. H. Lawrence
Consciousness is an end in itself. We torture ourselves getting somewhere, and when we get there it is nowhere, for there is nowhere to get to.

Consciousness is an end in itself. We torture ourselves getting somewhere, and when we get there it is nowhere, for there is nowhere to get to.

D. H. Lawrence
Do not allow to slip away from you freedoms the people who came before you won with such hard knocks.

Do not allow to slip away from you freedoms the people who came before you won with such hard knocks.

D. H. Lawrence
Be a good animal, true to your animal instincts.

Be a good animal, true to your animal instincts.

D. H. Lawrence
The Moon! Artemis! the great goddess of the splendid past of men! Are you going to tell me she is a dead lump?

The Moon! Artemis! the great goddess of the splendid past of men! Are you going to tell me she is a dead lump?

D. H. Lawrence
The war is dreadful. It is the business of the artist to follow it home to the heart of the individual fighters - not to talk in armies and nations and numbers - but to track it home.

The war is dreadful. It is the business of the artist to follow it home to the heart of the individual fighters - not to talk in armies and nations and numbers - but to track it home.

D. H. Lawrence
The true artist doesn't substitute immorality for morality. On the contrary, he always substitutes a finer morality for a grosser one.

The true artist doesn't substitute immorality for morality. On the contrary, he always substitutes a finer morality for a grosser one.

D. H. Lawrence
The essential function of art is moral. But a passionate, implicit morality, not didactic. A morality which changes the blood, rather than the mind.

The essential function of art is moral. But a passionate, implicit morality, not didactic. A morality which changes the blood, rather than the mind.

D. H. Lawrence
The Christian fear of the pagan outlook has damaged the whole consciousness of man.

The Christian fear of the pagan outlook has damaged the whole consciousness of man.

D. H. Lawrence
The cruelest thing a man can do to a woman is to portray her as perfection.

The cruelest thing a man can do to a woman is to portray her as perfection.

D. H. Lawrence
Since obscenity is the truth of our passion today, it is the only stuff of art - or almost the only stuff.

Since obscenity is the truth of our passion today, it is the only stuff of art - or almost the only stuff.

D. H. Lawrence
Oh literature, oh the glorious Art, how it preys upon the marrow in our bones. It scoops the stuffing out of us, and chucks us aside. Alas!

Oh literature, oh the glorious Art, how it preys upon the marrow in our bones. It scoops the stuffing out of us, and chucks us aside. Alas!

D. H. Lawrence
I shall always be a priest of love.

I shall always be a priest of love.

D. H. Lawrence
I cannot cure myself of that most woeful of youth's follies - thinking that those who care about us will care for the things that mean much to us.

I cannot cure myself of that most woeful of youth's follies - thinking that those who care about us will care for the things that mean much to us.

D. H. Lawrence
I believe that a man is converted when first he hears the low, vast murmur of life, of human life, troubling his hitherto unconscious self.

I believe that a man is converted when first he hears the low, vast murmur of life, of human life, troubling his hitherto unconscious self.

D. H. Lawrence
The human consciousness is really homogeneous. There is no complete forgetting, even in death.

The human consciousness is really homogeneous. There is no complete forgetting, even in death.

D. H. Lawrence
The great living experience for every man is his adventure into the woman. The man embraces in the woman all that is not himself, and from that one resultant, from that embrace, comes every new action.

The great living experience for every man is his adventure into the woman. The man embraces in the woman all that is not himself, and from that one resultant, from that embrace, comes every new action.

D. H. Lawrence
Money is our madness, our vast collective madness.

Money is our madness, our vast collective madness.

D. H. Lawrence
God how I hate new countries: They are older than the old, more sophisticated, much more conceited, only young in a certain puerile vanity more like senility than anything.

God how I hate new countries: They are older than the old, more sophisticated, much more conceited, only young in a certain puerile vanity more like senility than anything.

D. H. Lawrence
Oh the innocent girl in her maiden teens knows perfectly well what everything means.

Oh the innocent girl in her maiden teens knows perfectly well what everything means.

D. H. Lawrence
Men are freest when they are most unconscious of freedom. The shout is a rattling of chains, always was.

Men are freest when they are most unconscious of freedom. The shout is a rattling of chains, always was.

D. H. Lawrence
Europe's the mayonnaise, but America supplies the good old lobster.

Europe's the mayonnaise, but America supplies the good old lobster.

D. H. Lawrence
One must learn to love, and go through a good deal of suffering to get to it... and the journey is always towards the other soul.

One must learn to love, and go through a good deal of suffering to get to it... and the journey is always towards the other soul.

D. H. Lawrence
How beautiful maleness is, if it finds its right expression.

How beautiful maleness is, if it finds its right expression.

D. H. Lawrence
God is only a great imaginative experience.

God is only a great imaginative experience.

D. H. Lawrence
All that we know is nothing, we are merely crammed wastepaper baskets, unless we are in touch with that which laughs at all our knowing.

All that we know is nothing, we are merely crammed wastepaper baskets, unless we are in touch with that which laughs at all our knowing.

D. H. Lawrence
I hate the actor and audience business. An author should be in among the crowd, kicking their shins or cheering them on to some mischief or merriment.

I hate the actor and audience business. An author should be in among the crowd, kicking their shins or cheering them on to some mischief or merriment.

D. H. Lawrence
Men and women should stay apart, till their hearts grow gentle towards one another again.

Men and women should stay apart, till their hearts grow gentle towards one another again.

D. H. Lawrence
It is a fine thing to establish one's own religion in one's heart, not to be dependent on tradition and second-hand ideals. Life will seem to you, later, not a lesser, but a greater thing.

It is a fine thing to establish one's own religion in one's heart, not to be dependent on tradition and second-hand ideals. Life will seem to you, later, not a lesser, but a greater thing.

D. H. Lawrence
I can't do with mountains at close quarters - they are always in the way, and they are so stupid, never moving and never doing anything but obtrude themselves.

I can't do with mountains at close quarters - they are always in the way, and they are so stupid, never moving and never doing anything but obtrude themselves.

D. H. Lawrence
It's bad taste to be wise all the time, like being at a perpetual funeral.

It's bad taste to be wise all the time, like being at a perpetual funeral.

D. H. Lawrence
The human soul needs actual beauty more than bread.

The human soul needs actual beauty more than bread.

D. H. Lawrence
Men! The only animal in the world to fear.

Men! The only animal in the world to fear.

D. H. Lawrence
Never trust the artist. Trust the tale. The proper function of the critic is to save the tale from the artist who created it.

Never trust the artist. Trust the tale. The proper function of the critic is to save the tale from the artist who created it.

D. H. Lawrence
Life is ours to be spent, not to be saved.

Life is ours to be spent, not to be saved.

D. H. Lawrence
There's always the hyena of morality at the garden gate, and the real wolf at the end of the street.

There's always the hyena of morality at the garden gate, and the real wolf at the end of the street.

D. H. Lawrence
When one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere.

When one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere.

D. H. Lawrence
Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot.

Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot.

D. H. Lawrence
Tragedy is like strong acid - it dissolves away all but the very gold of truth.

Tragedy is like strong acid - it dissolves away all but the very gold of truth.

D. H. Lawrence
I can never decide whether my dreams are the result of my thoughts, or my thoughts the result of my dreams.

I can never decide whether my dreams are the result of my thoughts, or my thoughts the result of my dreams.

D. H. Lawrence
This is the very worst wickedness, that we refuse to acknowledge the passionate evil that is in us. This makes us secret and rotten.

This is the very worst wickedness, that we refuse to acknowledge the passionate evil that is in us. This makes us secret and rotten.

D. H. Lawrence
Psychoanalysis is out, under a therapeutic disguise, to do away entirely with the moral faculty in man.

Psychoanalysis is out, under a therapeutic disguise, to do away entirely with the moral faculty in man.

D. H. Lawrence
A man has no religion who has not slowly and painfully gathered one together, adding to it, shaping it; and one's religion is never complete and final, it seems, but must always be undergoing modification.

A man has no religion who has not slowly and painfully gathered one together, adding to it, shaping it; and one's religion is never complete and final, it seems, but must always be undergoing modification.

D. H. Lawrence
If a woman hasn't got a tiny streak of harlot in her, she's a dry stick as a rule.

If a woman hasn't got a tiny streak of harlot in her, she's a dry stick as a rule.

D. H. Lawrence
I like to write when I feel spiteful. It is like having a good sneeze.

I like to write when I feel spiteful. It is like having a good sneeze.

D. H. Lawrence
Myth is an attempt to narrate a whole human experience, of which the purpose is too deep, going too deep in the blood and soul, for mental explanation or description.

Myth is an attempt to narrate a whole human experience, of which the purpose is too deep, going too deep in the blood and soul, for mental explanation or description.

D. H. Lawrence
Towns oftener swamp one than carry one out onto the big ocean of life.

Towns oftener swamp one than carry one out onto the big ocean of life.

D. H. Lawrence
People always make war when they say they love peace.

People always make war when they say they love peace.

D. H. Lawrence
Reason is a supple nymph, and slippery as a fish by nature. She had as leave give her kiss to an absurdity any day, as to syllogistic truth. The absurdity may turn out truer.

Reason is a supple nymph, and slippery as a fish by nature. She had as leave give her kiss to an absurdity any day, as to syllogistic truth. The absurdity may turn out truer.

D. H. Lawrence
One could laugh at the world better if it didn't mix tender kindliness with its brutality.

One could laugh at the world better if it didn't mix tender kindliness with its brutality.

D. H. Lawrence
But better die than live mechanically a life that is a repetition of repetitions.

But better die than live mechanically a life that is a repetition of repetitions.

D. H. Lawrence
The only justice is to follow the sincere intuition of the soul, angry or gentle. Anger is just, and pity is just, but judgement is never just.

The only justice is to follow the sincere intuition of the soul, angry or gentle. Anger is just, and pity is just, but judgement is never just.

D. H. Lawrence
The more I see of democracy the more I dislike it. It just brings everything down to the mere vulgar level of wages and prices, electric light and water closets, and nothing else.

The more I see of democracy the more I dislike it. It just brings everything down to the mere vulgar level of wages and prices, electric light and water closets, and nothing else.

D. H. Lawrence
In every living thing there is the desire for love.

In every living thing there is the desire for love.

D. H. Lawrence
The business of art is to reveal the relation between man and his environment.

The business of art is to reveal the relation between man and his environment.

D. H. Lawrence
I want to live my life so that my nights are not full of regrets.

I want to live my life so that my nights are not full of regrets.

D. H. Lawrence
There is only one thing that a man really wants to do, all his life; and that is, to find his way to his God, his Morning Star, salute his fellow man, and enjoy the woman who has come the long way with him.

There is only one thing that a man really wants to do, all his life; and that is, to find his way to his God, his Morning Star, salute his fellow man, and enjoy the woman who has come the long way with him.

D. H. Lawrence
The world of men is dreaming, it has gone mad in its sleep, and a snake is strangling it, but it can't wake up.

The world of men is dreaming, it has gone mad in its sleep, and a snake is strangling it, but it can't wake up.

D. H. Lawrence
I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.

I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.

D. H. Lawrence
For man, as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly, most perfectly alive.

For man, as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly, most perfectly alive.

D. H. Lawrence
The fairest thing in nature, a flower, still has its roots in earth and manure.

The fairest thing in nature, a flower, still has its roots in earth and manure.

D. H. Lawrence
Life is a travelling to the edge of knowledge, then a leap taken.

Life is a travelling to the edge of knowledge, then a leap taken.

D. H. Lawrence
Love is the flower of life, and blossoms unexpectedly and without law, and must be plucked where it is found, and enjoyed for the brief hour of its duration.

Love is the flower of life, and blossoms unexpectedly and without law, and must be plucked where it is found, and enjoyed for the brief hour of its duration.

D. H. Lawrence
Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar.

Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar.

D. H. Lawrence

Creation destroys as it goes, throws down one tree for the rise of another. But ideal mankind would abolish death, multiply itself million upon million, rear up city upon city, save every parasite alive, until the accumulation of mere existence is swollen to a horror.

D. H. Lawrence

My great religion is a belief in the blood, the flesh, as being wiser than the intellect. We can go wrong in our minds. But what our blood feels and believes and says, is always true. The intellect is only a bit and a bridle.

D. H. Lawrence

I am in love - and, my God, it is the greatest thing that can happen to a man. I tell you, find a woman you can fall in love with. Do it. Let yourself fall in love. If you have not done so already, you are wasting your life.

D. H. Lawrence

My whole working philosophy is that the only stable happiness for mankind is that it shall live married in blessed union to woman-kind - intimacy, physical and psychical between a man and his wife. I wish to add that my state of bliss is by no means perfect.

D. H. Lawrence