45 Washington Irving Quotes For Budding Short Story Writers

Washington Irving is famously renowned as the “first American man of letters” all over the world.

Washington Irving was born on 3 April 1787, in New York, U.S., and became one of the most famous American writers celebrated even in the present times. He was a famous short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat.

Let’s take a look at some of the best Washington Irving quotes and inspirational quotes given by Washington Irving to motivate budding short story writers, along with famous quotes from his favorite short stories and write-ups. If you like this article, you can also look at [Edgar Allan Poe quotes] and Herman Melville quotes.

‍

The American writer has also achieved fame on international grounds for two of his most famous short stories, such as 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow', and also his biographical work titled 'A History of the Life' and 'Voyages of Christopher Columbus'. Let's have a look at some of the most popular Washington Irving quotes.  

1. “There is in every true woman’s heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.”

- Washington Irving

2. “There is never jealousy where there is not strong regard.”

- Washington Irving

3. “The only happy author in this world is he who is below the care of reputation.”

- Washington Irving

4. “Whenever a man’s friends begin to compliment him about looking young, he may be sure that they think he is growing old.”

- Washington Irving

5. “I profess not to know how women’s hearts are wooed and won. To me they have always been matters of riddle and admiration.”

- Washington Irving

6. “Surely happiness is reflective, like the light of heaven; and every countenance, bright with smiles, and glowing with innocent enjoyment, is a mirror transmitting to others the rays of a supreme and ever-shining benevolence.”

- Washington Irving

7. “The sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. Every other wound we seek to heal -- every other affliction to forget: but this wound we consider it a duty to keep open -- this affliction we cherish and brood over in solitude.”

- Washington Irving

8. “A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.”

- Washington Irving

9. “The idol of today pushes the hero of yesterday out of our recollection; and will, in turn, be supplanted by his successor of tomorrow.”

- Washington Irving

10. “There is never jealousy where there is not strong regard.”

- Washington Irving

11. “Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.”

- Washington Irving

12. “They who drink beer will think beer.”

- Washington Irving

13. “Language gradually varies, and with it fade away the writings of authors who have flourished their allotted time; otherwise, the creative powers of genius would overstock the world, and the mind would be completely bewildered in the endless mazes of literature.”

- Washington Irving

Washington Irving is most renowned for his short stories, one of which is 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow', a gothic story published in the year 1820 and is a part of one of his most famous collections, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon'. Let’s take a look at some of the best Washington Irving quotes given in 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' essay.

14. “Others may write from the head, but he writes from the heart, and the heart will always understand him.”

- Washington Irving

15. “Great minds have purposes, others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them.”

- Washington Irving

16. “He who wins a thousand common hearts is therefore entitled to some renown; but he who keeps undisputed sway over the heart of a coquette is indeed a hero.”

- Washington Irving

17. “Some minds seem almost to create themselves, springing up under every disadvantage and working their solitary but irresistible way through a thousand obstacles.”

- Washington Irving

18.“Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.”

- Washington Irving

19. “All these, however, were mere terrors of the night, phantoms of the mind that walk in darkness; and though he had seen many spectres in his time, and been more than once beset by Satan in divers shapes, in his lonely pre-ambulations, yet daylight put an end to all these evils; and he would have passed a pleasant life of it, in despite of the devil and all his works, if his path had not been crossed by a being that causes more perplexity to mortal man than ghosts, goblins, and the whole race of witches put together, and that was - a woman.”

- Washington Irving

20. “There is a healthful hardiness about real dignity that never dreads contact and communion with others however humble.”

- Washington Irving

21. “To look upon its grass grown yard, where the sunbeams seem to sleep so quietly, one would think that there at least the dead might rest in peace.”

- Washington Irving

22. “The Almighty Dollar, that great object of universal devotion throughout our land.”

- Washington Irving

One of the other most famous short stories of Washington Irving as a part of 34 essays published under the name of 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon' is 'Rip Van Winkle' (1819), a classic romantic tale. Let’s take a look at some of the best 'Rip Van Winkle 'quotes from Washington Irving.

23. “Men are always doomed to be duped, not so much by the arts of the other as by their own imagination. They are always wooing goddesses, and marrying mere mortals.”

- Washington Irving

24. “I am always at a loss to know how much to believe in my own stories.”

- Washington Irving

25. “It is almost startling to hear this warning of departed time sounding among the tombs, and telling the lapse of the hour, which, like a billow, has rolled us onward towards the grave.”

- Washington Irving

26. “Times grew worse... as years of matrimony rolled on... "

- Washington Irving

27. “A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use.”

- Washington Irving  

28. “He is the true enchanter, whose spell operates, not upon the senses, but upon the imagination and the heart.”

- Washington Irving

29. “The great error in Rip’s composition was an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor.”

- Washington Irving

30. “By my soul, but I’d have you know it’s a piece of distinction to be waited on by a Banshee. It's proof that one has pure blood in one’s veins.”

- Washington Irving  

31. “One taste provoked another ... at length his senses were overpowered, his eyes swam in his head ... and he fell into a deep sleep.”

- Washington Irving  

Washington Irving is also known for introducing the early stage of romanticism through his different stories. Let’s take a look at some of the best love quotes given by Washington Irving. You will also be able to find Washington Irving quotes about tears here.

32. “For my part, I love to give myself up to the illusion of poetry. A hero of fiction that never existed is just as valuable to me as a hero of history that existed a thousand years ago.”

- Washington Irving

33. “There is a sacredness in tears... They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love.”

- Washington Irving

34. “There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations.”

- Washington Irving

35. “A woman is more considerate in affairs of love than a man; because love is more the study and business of her life.”

- Washington Irving

36. “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”

- Washington Irving

37. “There are certain half-dreaming moods of mind in which we naturally steal away from noise and glare, and seek some quiet haunt where we may indulge our reveries and build our air castles undisturbed.”

- Washington Irving

38. “True love will not brook reserve; it feels undervalued and outraged, when even the sorrows of those it loves are concealed from it.”

- Washington Irving

39.  “A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands. But a mother’s love endures through all.”

- Washington Irving

40.  “Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.”

- Washington Irving

Washington Irving is regarded as one of the best writers of the early 19th century. Let’s take a look at some of the most inspirational Washington Irving quotes and sayings to motivate future budding writers worldwide.

41. “after a man passes 60, his mischief is mainly in his head”

- Washington Irving

42. “An inexhaustible good nature is one of the most precious gifts of heaven, spreading itself like oil over the troubled sea of thought, and keeping the mind smooth and equable in the roughest weather.”

- Washington Irving

43. “I have never found, in anything outside of the four walls of my study, an enjoyment equal to sitting at my writing desk with a clean page, a new theme, and a mind awake.”

- Washington Irving

44. “The love of a mother is never exhausted. It never changes – it never tires – it endures through all; in good repute, in bad repute. In the face of the world’s condemnation, a mother’s love still lives on.”

- Washington Irving

45. “After all, it is the divinity within that makes the divinity without..."

- Washington Irving

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Washington Irving quotes then why not take a look at Nathaniel Hawthorne quotes, or Tennessee Williams quotes.

‍