I did no know everything there was to know about myself, and knew that I did not know it. John Knowles More Quotes by John Knowles More Quotes From John Knowles Your war memories will be with you forever, you'll be asked about them thousands of times after the war is over. People will get their respect for you from that-partly from that, don't get me wrong-but if you can say that you were up front where there was some real shooting going on, then that will mean a whole lot to you in years to come. John Knowles realmemorieswar But I was used to finding something deadly in things that attracted me; there was always something deadly lurking in anything I wanted, anything I loved. John Knowles separate-peaceusedwanted The next major advance in the health of the American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself. John Knowles medicinenextpeople It was hard to remember in the heavy and sensual clarity of these mornings; I forgot whom I hated and who hated me. I wanted to break out crying from stabs of hopeless joy, or intolerable promise, or because these mornings were too full of beauty for me, because I knew of too much hate to be contained in a world like this. John Knowles hatejoymorning So the more things remain the same, the more they change after all. John Knowles separate-peacepeace Sarcasm... the protest of those who are weak. John Knowles protestsarcasmweak My father was in the coal business in West Virginia. Both dad and mother were, however, originally from Massachusetts; New England, to them, meant the place to go if you really wanted an education. John Knowles dadmotherfather Exeter was, I suspect, more crucial in my life than in the lives of most members of my class, and conceivably, than in the lives of almost anyone else who ever attended the school. John Knowles membersclassschool The best teaching I ever experienced was at Exeter. Yale was a distinct letdown afterward. John Knowles letdownsyaleteaching Sarcasm is the protest of the weak. John Knowles protestsarcasmweak As I walked briskly out the road the wind knifed at my face, but this sun caressed the back of my neck. John Knowles facessunwind There are simply more young people than there ever were. You get this feeling of strength. Also, large numbers can be a drawback, making it difficult to lose one's anonymity. John Knowles feelingsnumberspeople Nothing endures. Not a tree. Not love. Not even death by violence. John Knowles separate-peaceviolencetree Young people in my generation were sort of in lockstep, and it wasn't just the '40s, either. In the '30s and in the '50s it was the same. No one ever dropped out unless he got sick or got kicked out. John Knowles generationssickpeople All of them, all except Phineas, constructed at infinite cost to themselves these Maginot Lines against this enemy they thought they saw across the frontier, this enemy who never attacked that way-if he ever attacked at all; if he was indeed the enemy. John Knowles linescostenemy Everyone has a moment in history which belongs particularly to him. It is the moment when his emotions achieve their most powerful sway over him, and afterward when you say to this person "the world today" or "life" or "reality" he will assume that you mean this moment, even if it is fifty years past. The world, through his unleashed emotions, imprinted itself upon him, and he carries the stamp of that passing moment forever. John Knowles powerfulmeanpast I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas. John Knowles purposedesirefirsts It was demeaning to scrape affection from virtually everyone you encountered. That was immature. John Knowles demeaningaffectionimmature Never say you are five feet nine when you are five feet eight and a half" was the first one I encountered. Another was, "Always say some prayers at night because it might turn out that there is a God. John Knowles prayerfeetnight So the more things remained the same, the more they changed after all. Nothing endures. Not love, not a tree, not even a death by violence. John Knowles endureviolencetree
