Edith Wharton

"A person's true character is revealed not in triumph but in defeat."

"The most profound conversations happen in the longest silences."

"Every woman deserves to be more than a ornament in someone else's life."

"Dreams are the language through which the soul speaks to the mind."

"The measure of your life is not its length but its depth."

"Gratitude transforms the ordinary into the sacred."

"A work of literature should hold a mirror to the soul, not just the face."

"The price of progress is always the loss of something we held dear."

"In matters of the heart, reason is the poorest of advisors."

"True strength is the ability to be vulnerable without losing yourself."

"The most dangerous lie is the one you tell yourself."

"Hope is not the belief that things will work out, but the courage to act as if they might."

"A woman who writes has already claimed her freedom."

"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it."

"There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."

"If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time."

"Some people think that to be strong is to never feel pain. In truth, it is the ability to carry on despite it."

"The real wealth is in books and in thinking."

"Wealth and power are nothing to intelligence and character."

"The mind is a strange and wonderful thing; it can be both a prison and a palace."

"One cannot direct the wind, but one can adjust the sails."

"The fortunate are those who learned early that failure is merely tuition."

"A woman's visibility should not be limited by convention."

"Great authors are those who understand that life itself is the greatest story."

"The secret to living well is to embrace your authentic self."

"Tradition should inspire, not imprison."

"The measure of a person is not in their wealth but in their wisdom."

"Every age imagines itself to be more enlightened than the one before it."

"Love is the most destructive force known to humanity, and also the most redemptive."

"A kindness shown is never wasted, though the recipient may never know its true cost."