Elizabeth Bowen

“The first blush of anything is the best.”

“It is not our exalted feelings, it is our sentiments that build the necessary home.”

“When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out.”

“One can live without friends, but one cannot live without neighbours.”

“A talk is a voyage. It must be charted.”

“Only the insincere can be charming.”

“Jealousy is no more than feeling alone against smiling enemies.”

“No object is mysterious. The mystery is your eye.”

“Language is the only thing worth knowing even poorly.”

“Fate is not an eagle, it creeps like a rat.”

“Disappointment is a sort of bankruptcy - the bankruptcy of a soul that expends too much in hope and expectation.”

“Innocence is not seen in the moment of being experienced. It is only remembered.”

“The human heart is a vagabond.”

“Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable.”

“Never to lie is to have no lock on your door.”

“The best that is felt is not said.”

“Imagination is the power of the mind over the possibilities of things.”