Henry Valentine Miller was born in Yorkville, Manhattan, on December 26, 1891.
He is a renowned American novelist, best known as the author of books like 'Tropic Of Cancer', 'The Colossus Of Maroussi', and 'Black Spring'. Most of Miller's works are semi-autobiographical in nature and feature literary techniques, such as stream of consciousness, philosophical reflection, and social criticism.
Here is a collection of Henry Miller's best quotes that all his fans should read at least once.
Henry Miller Quotes About Life
Henry Miller is one of the most influential figures in the world of literature. Listed below are some of Miller's best quotes about life.
“Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes.” - 'The Henry Miller Reader', Henry Miller and John Calder, 1959.
“The man who is forever disturbed about the condition of humanity either has no problems of his own or has refused to face them.” - 1949.
“Imagination is the voice of daring. If there is anything godlike about God, it is that. He dared to imagine everything.” - 1949.
“Give me a few days of peace in your arms—I need it terribly. I’m ragged, worn, exhausted. After that I can face the world.” - 'Letters to Anaïs Nin', 1965.
“In the beginning was the Word. Man acts it out. He is the act, not the actor.” - 'Quiet Days In Clichy', 1956.
“One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.” - 'Big Sur And The Oranges Of Hieronymus Bosch', 1957.
“There is no salvation in becoming adapted to a world which is crazy” - 'The Colossus Of Maroussi' (New Directions Publishing), 2010.
“I’m an egotist, but I’m not selfish. There’s a difference.” - 'Tropic Of Cancer', 1934.
“…true strength lies in submission which permits one to dedicate his life, through devotion, to something beyond himself.” - 'The Time Of The Assassins: A Study Of Arthur Rimbaud', 1946.
“To be joyous is to be a madman in a world of sad ghosts.” - 1949.
“Everyone has his own reality in which, if one is not too cautious, timid or frightened, one swims. This is the only reality there is.” - 'Stand Still Like The Hummingbird', 1962.
“Do anything, but let it produce joy. Do anything, but let it yield ecstasy.” - 'Tropic Of Cancer', 1934.
"The earth is not a lair, neither is it a prison. The earth is a Paradise, the only one we’ll ever know."
“Honest criticism means nothing: what one wants is unrestrained passion, fire for fire.” - 1959.
"I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive."
"It is almost banal to say so yet it needs to be stressed continually: all is creation, all is change, all is flux, all is metamorphosis."
“We should read to give our souls a chance to luxuriate.” - 'Dear Dear Brenda: The Love Letters Of Henry Miller To Brenda Venus'.
"Dedication is not what others expect of you, it is what you can give to others."
"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware."
“Every man is working out his destiny in his own way and nobody can be of any help except by being kind, generous, and patient.” - 'Henry Miller On Writing', 1964.
"Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself."
"Part of the act of creating is in discovering your own kind. They are everywhere. But don't look for them in the wrong places."
“Whatever there be of progress in life comes not through adaptation but through daring.” - 'The Henry Miller Reader', Henry Miller and John Calder, 1959.
Henry Miller Quotes On Love
(Here, at Kidadl, you can read the best quotes from the famous American novelist Henry Miller.)
The wonderful author, Henry Miller, has often written about love. This section contains some of Miller's most popular quotes on this subject.
"The one thing we can never get enough of is love. And the one thing we never give enough of is love."
"Real love is never perplexed, never qualifies, never rejects, never demands. It replenishes, by grace of restoring unlimited circulation."
“Next to love friendship, in my opinion, is the most valuable thing life has to offer.” - 'A Henry Miller Reader', Henry Miller and John Calder, 1985.
"To paint is to love again, and to love is to live life to the fullest."
Henry Miller Quotes On Art
Here are some of Miller's best quotes on art that will make your day.
“I believe that today more than ever a book should be sought after even if it has only one great page in it. We must search for fragments, splinters, toenails, anything that has ore in it, anything that is capable of resuscitating the body and the soul.” - 'Tropic Of Cancer', 1934.
“'I think someday you’re going to be a great writer,' he said. 'But', he added maliciously, 'first you’ll have to suffer a bit. I mean really suffer, because you don’t know what the word means yet'.” - 'Tropic Of Capricorn', 1934.
“I need to be alone. I need to ponder my shame and my despair in seclusion; I need the sunshine and the paving stones of the streets without companions, without conversation, face to face with myself, with only the music of my heart for company.” - 'Tropic Of Cancer', 1934.
“An artist earns the right to call himself a creator only when he admits to himself that he is but an instrument.” - 'The Time of the Assassins: A Study of Arthur Rimbaud', 1946.
“Every day that we fail to live out the maximum of our potentialities we kill the Shakespeare, Dante, Homer, Christ which is in us.” - 'The Cosmological Eye', 1939.
“I see myself forever and ever as the ridiculous [person], the lonely soul, the wanderer, the restless frustrated artist, the [person] in love with love, always in search of the absolute, always seeking the unattainable.” - 'Stand Still Like The Hummingbird', 1962.
“To make living itself an art, that is the goal.” - 'Big Sur And The Oranges Of Hieronymus Bosch', 1957.
Famous Henry Miller Quotes
This section features the most famous quotes by the renowned American writer Henry Miller.
“Like money, books must be kept in constant circulation... A book is not only a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on you are enriched threefold.” - 'The Book In My Life', 1952.
“Why are we so full of restraint? Why do we not give in all directions? Is it fear of losing ourselves? Until we do lose ourselves there is no hope of finding ourselves.” - 'The Henry Miller Reader', Henry Miller and John Calder, 1959.
“Whatever I do is done out of sheer joy; I drop my fruits like a ripe tree. What the general reader or the critic makes of them is not my concern.” - 'The Wisdom Of The Heart', 1941.
“If there is to be any peace it will come through being, not having.” - 'The Henry Miller Reader', Henry Miller and John Calder, 1959.
“Man has demonstrated that he is master of everything – except his own nature.” - 'The Air-Conditioned Nightmare', 1945.
“It’s good to be just plain happy, it’s a little better to know that you’re happy; but to understand that you’re happy and to know why and how … and still be happy, be happy in the being and the knowing, well that is beyond happiness, that is bliss …” - 'The Colossus Of Maroussi', 1941.
“When you travel often, you will be addicted to it forever.” - October 22, 2012, www.huffpost.com, William D. Chalmers.
“Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood.” - 'Tropic Of Cancer' 1934.
“Whatever needs to be maintained through force is doomed.” - 'The Wisdom Of The Heart', 1941.
"It was only in my forties that I started feeling young."
“The American ideal is youth –handsome, empty youth.” - 'The Wisdom Of The Heart', 1941.
"Everything hinges on how you look at things."
"The full and joyful acceptance of the worst in oneself may be the only sure way of transforming it."
“The man who looks for security, even in the mind, is like a man who would chop off his limbs in order to have artificial ones which will give him no pain or trouble.” - 1959.
“Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate, or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate, or despise, serves to defeat us in the end.” - 'The Henry Miller Reader', Henry Miller and John Calder, 1959.
"The goal of life is not to possess power but to radiate it."
“Surely every one realizes, at some point along the way, that he is capable of living a far better life than the one he has chosen.” - 'Big Sur And The Oranges Of Hieronymus Bosch', 1957.
“The only true obscenity is war.” - 'Tropic Of Cancer', 1934.
“Let me be, was all I wanted. Be what I am, no matter how I am.” - 'Stand Still Like The Hummingbird', 1962.
“There's nothing wrong with the world. What's wrong is our way of looking at it.” - 'Big Sur And The Oranges Of Hieronymus Bosch', 1957.
“Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.” - 1959.
