Classy Quote logo
  • Home
  • Categories
  • Authors
  • Topics
  • Who said

Patrick White Quotes

Patrick White quote from classy quote

If truth is not acceptable, it becomes the imagination of others.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Imagination Truth

They walked on rather aimlessly. He hoped she wouldn't notice he was touched, because he wouldn't have known how to explain why. Here lay the great discrepancy between aesthetic truth and sleazy reality.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Aesthetics Reality Truth Walking

I would like to believe in the myth that we grow wiser with age. In a sense my disbelief is wisdom. Those of a middle generation, if charitable or sentimental, subscribe to the wisdom myth, while the callous see us as dispensable objects, like broken furniture or dead flowers. For the young we scarcely exist unless we are unavoidable members of the same family, farting, slobbering, perpetually mislaying teeth and bifocals.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Disbelief False Teeth Farting Myths Old Age Senility Wisdom Youth

He himself, he realized, had always been most abominably frightened, even at the height of his divine power, a frail god upon a rickety throne, afraid of opening letters, of making decisions, afraid of the instinctive knowledge in the eyes of mules, of the innocent eyes of good men, of the elastic nature of the passions, even of the devotion he had received from some men, and one woman, and dogs.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Decisions Devotion Dogs Fear Gods Innocence Passion

Superficially my war was a comfortable exercise in futility carried out in a grand Scottish hotel amongst the bridge players and swillers of easy-come-by whisky. My chest got me out of active service and into guilt, as I wrote two, or is it three of the novels for which I am now acclaimed.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Comfort Futility Hotels Novels War Whisky World War Ii

Mrs. Trotter made a sincere though wrong sound, while opening her handbag to look for help.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Handbags Humour

His legend will be written down, eventually, by those who are troubled by it.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White History Legacies Legends

But the purpose and nature are never clearly revealed. Human behaviour is a series of lunges, of which, it is sometimes sensed, the direction is inevitable.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Destiny Nature

Voss could always, if necessary, fail to understand. But wounds will wince, especially in the salt air. He was smiling and screwing up his eyes at the great theatre of light and water. Some pitied him. Some despised him for his funny appearance of a foreigner. None, he realized with a tremor of anger, was conscious of his strength. Mediocre, animal men never do guess at the power of rock or fire, until the last moment before those elements reduce them to - nothing. This, the palest, the most transparent of words, yet comes closest to being complete.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Exploring Expedition Nature

She would have liked to love. It was terrible to think she had never loved her son as a man. Sometimes her hands would wrestle together. They were supple, rather plump hands, broad and not yet dry. But wrestling like this together, they were papery and dried-up. Then she would force herself into some deliberate activity or speak tenderly to her good husband, offering him things to eat, and seeing to his clothes. She loved her husband. Even after the drudgery of love she could still love him. But sometimes she lay on her side and said, I have not loved him enough, not yet, he has not seen the evidence of love. It would have been simpler if she had been able to turn and point to the man their son, but she could not.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Family Love

It was Sunday, and Mumma had gone next door with Lena and the little ones. Under the pepper tree in the yard Pa was sorting, counting, the empty bottles he would sell back: the bottles going clink clink as Pa stuck them in the sack. The fowls were fluffing in the dust and sun: that crook-neck white pullet Mumma said she would hit on the head if only she had the courage to; but she hadn't.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Bottles Children Fathers Fowls Mothers Recycling Sundays Trees

As it is I'm a dated novelist, whom hardly anybody reads, or if they do, most of them don't understand what I am on about. Certainly I wish I had never written Voss, which is going to be everybody's albatross.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Literature Novelists Novels Voss Novel

The map? I will first make it.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Ambition Arrogance Australia Exploration Maps Travel

I am compelled into this country.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Australia Travel

And the cavern of fire was enormous, labyrinthine, that received the man. He branched and flamed, glowed and increased, and was suddenly extinguished in the little puffs of smoke and tired thoughts.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Existence Fire Smoke Thoughts

Life is full of alternatives but no choice.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Choice Fate Life

In general,' Voss replied, 'it is necessary to communicate without knowledge of the language.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Aboriginal Australian Literature Communication Language

At times his arrogance did resolve itself into simplicity, though it was difficult, especially for strangers, to distinguish these occasions.

~ Patrick White

Patrick White Arrogance Simplicity
  • Classy Quote

    ClassyQuote has been providing 500000+ famous quotes from 40000+ popular authors to our worldwide community.

  • Other Pages

    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
  • Our Products

    • Chrome Extention
    • Microsoft Edge Add-on
  • Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
Copyright © 2025 ClassyQuote. All rights reserved.