Nathaniel Hawthorne Quotes Wisdom and Insight from the American Writer
Last Updated: 17 Mar 2025
“Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. ”
“Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind. ”
“A loving heart is the truest wisdom. ”
“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true. ”
“Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. ”
“The only sensible ends are those which are in themselves worthwhile. ”
“Even a thief can get to heaven. ”
“It is a good idea to be reminded that every decision is a choice, and that it’s the choices that define us. ”
“The past is always with us, for it feeds the present. ”
“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house. ”
“The greatest obstacle to being heroic is the doubt whether one may not be going to prove oneself a fool. ”
“Nothing is so much to be feared as fear. ”
“To be at peace, you must first be at war with yourself. ”
“No man has a right to make a slave of another. ”
“There is no remedy for love but to love more. ”
“Happiness is a butterfly which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ”
“Shame, however, is often as if it were its own punishment. ”
“Life is made up of moments. ”
“The Scarlet Letter is a mirror in which the writer sees his own image. ”
“In heaven’s own time, a new truth would be revealed, in order to establish the whole relation between man and woman on a surer ground of mutual happiness. ”
“A man’s moral character is his fate. ”
“We sometimes congratulate ourselves at the moment of waking from a troubled dream; it may be so the universe wakes up from its troubled dream. ”
“A woman’s chastity is an ornament and a strength. ”
“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. ”
“I have a strong faith that the joy of life, as well as its deepest sorrows, is to be found in the ever-present, ever-moving Now. ”
“The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. ”
“As for the moral of the story, I can only say that it is not a mere figment of the imagination. ”
“There is no denying that a good conscience is a great blessing. ”
“The world is not so much as an enemy as it is an opportunity. ”
“Great men are not always wise. ”
“The lover of the truth is a lover of the things of the world. ”
“When a writer loves to write, it is never a strain to produce. ”
“Words, like nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within. ”
“I have desired as much as I can to live as a man of truth and to love my own self in its darkest form. ”
“Most people cannot stand to be alone with their own thoughts. ”
“Love is like a shadow: no matter how dark it gets, it can never be fully extinguished. ”
“There is something in the nature of man that desires things of great import. ”
“True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen. ”
“For a moment, at least, I felt a glimmering of hope. ”
“The great charm of being a writer is that you get to say things that may be terrible or beautiful and yet no one can deny them. ”
“Each of us has a part to play in the drama of life. ”
“The human soul cannot be truly satisfied by any material wealth. ”
“It is the fate of the writer to share his pain with the world. ”
“It is always the heart that is true. ”
“Truth is always hidden from the world, only occasionally glimpsed by the most faithful of the few. ”
“I have often wondered whether the majority of those who fail to succeed in life can be blamed on circumstances or on themselves. ”
“The complexity of the human heart and mind lies beyond reason. ”
“I cannot shut myself from the world, but I would do well to temper the light that shines. ”
“A good marriage is one in which each partner is also a friend. ”
“The secret of happiness is not in seeking more, but in learning to live with less. ”
“These quotes highlight Hawthorne’s deep reflections on life, morality, love, and human nature.