James Thurber

Explore inspiring quotes by James Thurber, a remarkable figure whose words continue to inspire and motivate people around the world.

Total Quotes

Top Categories by James Thurber

Discover the themes and topics this author explores most

women

3 quotes

humor

3 quotes

fear

2 quotes

funny

2 quotes

age

1 quotes

anger

1 quotes

famous

1 quotes

food

1 quotes

Featured Quotes by James Thurber

Some of the most memorable quotes from this author

"Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to a man."

— James Thurberage

"Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness."

— James Thurberanger

"Comedy has to be done en clair. You can't blunt the edge of wit or the point of satire with obscurity. Try to imagine a famous witty saying that is not immediately clear."

— James Thurberfamous

"Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness."

— James Thurberfear

"But what is all this fear of and opposition to Oblivion? What is the matter with the soft Darkness, the Dreamless Sleep?"

— James Thurberfear

"The most dangerous food is wedding cake."

— James Thurberfood

All Quotes by James Thurber

Browse all quotes from this author

"Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to a man."

-James Thurber

ageView Quote

"Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness."

-James Thurber

angerView Quote

"Comedy has to be done en clair. You can't blunt the edge of wit or the point of satire with obscurity. Try to imagine a famous witty saying that is not immediately clear."

-James Thurber

famousView Quote

"Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness."

-James Thurber

fearView Quote

"But what is all this fear of and opposition to Oblivion? What is the matter with the soft Darkness, the Dreamless Sleep?"

-James Thurber

fearView Quote

"The most dangerous food is wedding cake."

-James Thurber

foodView Quote

"Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?"

-James Thurber

funnyView Quote

"Progress was all right. Only it went on too long."

-James Thurber

funnyView Quote

"The past is an old armchair in the attic, the present an ominous ticking sound, and the future is anybody's guess."

-James Thurber

futureView Quote

"The appreciative smile, the chuckle, the soundless mirth, so important to the success of comedy, cannot be understood unless one sits among the audience and feels the warmth created by the quality of laughter that the audience takes home with it."

-James Thurber

homeView Quote

"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility."

-James Thurber

humorView Quote

"Humor is a serious thing. I like to think of it as one of our greatest earliest natural resources, which must be preserved at all cost."

-James Thurber

humorView Quote

"The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer regarded as a nation possessed with humor or depth."

-James Thurber

humorView Quote

"The animals that depend on instinct have an inherent knowledge of the laws of economics and of how to apply them Man, with his powers of reason, has reduced economics to the level of a farce which is at once funnier and more tragic than Tobacco Road."

-James Thurber

knowledgeView Quote

"Love is what you've been through with somebody."

-James Thurber

loveView Quote

"All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why."

-James Thurber

menView Quote

"The wit makes fun of other persons the satirist makes fun of the world the humorist makes fun of himself, but in so doing, he identifies himself with people - that is, people everywhere, not for the purpose of taking them apart, but simply revealing their true nature."

-James Thurber

natureView Quote

"The appreciative smile, the chuckle, the soundless mirth, so important to the success of comedy, cannot be understood unless one sits among the audience and feels the warmth created by the quality of laughter that the audience takes home with it."

-James Thurber

smileView Quote

"The appreciative smile, the chuckle, the soundless mirth, so important to the success of comedy, cannot be understood unless one sits among the audience and feels the warmth created by the quality of laughter that the audience takes home with it."

-James Thurber

successView Quote

"Man has gone long enough, or even too long, without being man enough to face the simple truth that the trouble with man is man."

-James Thurber

truthView Quote

"The most dangerous food is wedding cake."

-James Thurber

weddingView Quote

"I think that maybe if women and children were in charge we would get somewhere."

-James Thurber

womenView Quote

"Women are wiser than men because they know less and understand more."

-James Thurber

womenView Quote

"I'm 65 and I guess that puts me in with the geriatrics. But if there were fifteen months in every year, I'd only be 48. That's the trouble with us. We number everything. Take women, for example. I think they deserve to have more than twelve years between the ages of 28 and 40."

-James Thurber

womenView Quote

Related Authors

Discover other authors you might enjoy

Julie Burchill

60 quotes

Allen Klein

31 quotes

Bertrand Russell

121 quotes

H. L. Mencken

113 quotes

George Burns

29 quotes

Hillary Clinton

117 quotes

Mark Twain

128 quotes

Camille Paglia

72 quotes

Madeleine Albright

47 quotes

Jennifer Aniston

61 quotes

Alanis Morissette

77 quotes

Bill Cosby

61 quotes

Other Authors to Explore

Explore more inspiring authors

View All Authors

James Thurber

Top Categories by James Thurber

women

humor

fear

funny

age

anger

famous

food

Featured Quotes by James Thurber

All Quotes by James Thurber

"Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to a man."

"Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness."

"Comedy has to be done en clair. You can't blunt the edge of wit or the point of satire with obscurity. Try to imagine a famous witty saying that is not immediately clear."

"Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness."

"But what is all this fear of and opposition to Oblivion? What is the matter with the soft Darkness, the Dreamless Sleep?"

"The most dangerous food is wedding cake."

"Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?"

"Progress was all right. Only it went on too long."

"The past is an old armchair in the attic, the present an ominous ticking sound, and the future is anybody's guess."

"The appreciative smile, the chuckle, the soundless mirth, so important to the success of comedy, cannot be understood unless one sits among the audience and feels the warmth created by the quality of laughter that the audience takes home with it."

"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility."

"Humor is a serious thing. I like to think of it as one of our greatest earliest natural resources, which must be preserved at all cost."

"The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer regarded as a nation possessed with humor or depth."

"The animals that depend on instinct have an inherent knowledge of the laws of economics and of how to apply them Man, with his powers of reason, has reduced economics to the level of a farce which is at once funnier and more tragic than Tobacco Road."

"Love is what you've been through with somebody."

"All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why."

"The wit makes fun of other persons the satirist makes fun of the world the humorist makes fun of himself, but in so doing, he identifies himself with people - that is, people everywhere, not for the purpose of taking them apart, but simply revealing their true nature."

"The appreciative smile, the chuckle, the soundless mirth, so important to the success of comedy, cannot be understood unless one sits among the audience and feels the warmth created by the quality of laughter that the audience takes home with it."

"The appreciative smile, the chuckle, the soundless mirth, so important to the success of comedy, cannot be understood unless one sits among the audience and feels the warmth created by the quality of laughter that the audience takes home with it."

"Man has gone long enough, or even too long, without being man enough to face the simple truth that the trouble with man is man."

"The most dangerous food is wedding cake."

"I think that maybe if women and children were in charge we would get somewhere."

"Women are wiser than men because they know less and understand more."

"I'm 65 and I guess that puts me in with the geriatrics. But if there were fifteen months in every year, I'd only be 48. That's the trouble with us. We number everything. Take women, for example. I think they deserve to have more than twelve years between the ages of 28 and 40."

Related Authors

Julie Burchill

Allen Klein

Bertrand Russell

H. L. Mencken

George Burns

Hillary Clinton

Mark Twain

Camille Paglia

Madeleine Albright

Jennifer Aniston

Alanis Morissette

Bill Cosby

Other Authors to Explore

David Hackworth

Paracelsus

Stevie Nicks

James A. Michener

Dodie Smith

Paul Walker

Jonathan Davis

Simon Cowell

Anthea Turner

Paul Reiser

Blu Cantrell

Jack Dempsey

Nikki Haley

Steve Zahn

Betty Dodson

Daniel Defoe

Ferdinand Mount

Horace Mann

Michael Ignatieff

Berthe Morisot