Quotes & anectdotes from the wise, the foolish, the courageous & the drunk

Havelock Ellis Writer

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United Kingdom
  • Born: Feb 2, 1859
  • Died: Jul 8, 1939

Henry Havelock Ellis, known as Havelock Ellis, was a British physician, writer, and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He was co-author of the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and inclinations, including transgender psychology. He is credited with introducing the notions of narcissism and autoeroticism, later adopted by psychoanalysis. He served as president of the Galton Institute and, like many intellectuals of his era, supported eugenics.

The romantic embrace can only be compared with music and with prayer. music & romance

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. art & life

Man lives by imagination. imagination

Thinking in its lower grades, is comparable to paper money, and in its higher forms it is a kind of poetry. money & poetry

It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success. success

The absence of flaw in beauty is itself a flaw. beauty

There is nothing that war has ever achieved that we could not better achieve without it. war

The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago... had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands. nature

Every artist writes his own autobiography. art

Pain and death are part of life. To reject them is to reject life itself. death

There is a very intimate connection between hypnotic phenomena and religion. religion

Dreams are real as long as they last. Can we say more of life? dreams

Jealousy, that dragon which slays love under the pretence of keeping it alive. jealousy

What we call progress is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance. change

Men who know themselves are no longer fools. They stand on the threshold of the door of Wisdom. wisdom

A sublime faith in human imbecility has seldom led those who cherish it astray. faith

St. Patrick's Day March 17, 2025

There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting. 3 quotes from John Millington Synge

3 quotes from John Millington Synge

Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy. 28 quotes from William Butler Yeats

28 quotes from William Butler Yeats

Geographically, Ireland is a medium-sized rural island that is slowly but steadily being consumed by sheep. 27 thoughts from Dave Barry

27 thoughts from Dave Barry

We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English. 74 other quotes from Winston Churchill

74 other quotes from Winston Churchill