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Authors:

Joseph Epstein quotes

American Writer January 9, 1937

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Quotes

The reason 'closure' is a cliche is that it is used too often, too imprecisely, and doesn't in any case reflect reality. In reality, such closure in broken friendships and much else in life is rarely achieved; only death brings closure and then not always for those still living. Joseph Epstein
High standards generally -- about workmanship and creation of objects, about what is owed in friendship, about the quality of art and much else -- far from being snobbish, are required to maintain decency in life. Joseph Epstein
Joseph Epstein quote: "I am married to someone I love."
I am married to someone I love. Joseph Epstein
I am afraid I am one of those people who continues to read in the hope of sometime discovering in a book a single—and singular—piece of wisdom so penetrating, so soul stirring, so utterly applicable to my own life as to make all the bad books I have read seem well worth the countless hours spent on them. My guess is that this wisdom, if it ever arrives, will do so in the form of a generalization. Joseph Epstein
What seems clear to me,' Karl Wertheimer joined in, 'is that Eli Black believes in the myth of the artist. This is a myth that holds that everything must be sacrificed for art. It may not be a foolish myth if one is, say, Michelangelo or Beethoven. But if one is less than that then the myth of the artist is very destructive, sadly so for people who become too closely involved with him. Joseph Epstein
All men and women are born, live suffer and die; what distinguishes us one from another is our dreams, whether they be dreams about worldly or unworldly things, and what we do to make them come about... We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death. But within this realm of... Joseph Epstein
Joseph Epstein quote: "No one has really ever defined what a friend is."
No one has really ever defined what a friend is. Joseph Epstein
Joseph Epstein quote: "I know from the middle distance I give off the look of being..."
I know from the middle distance I give off the look of being prolific, which is a funny compliment to receive. Joseph Epstein
Culture means, I think, that you have widened your experience enough through reading and through being a little bit thoughtful about these things that it has changed your outlook in some ways. And not necessarily made you a better human being but made you see things. Joseph Epstein
.....We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death. But within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we live. Joseph Epstein
Joseph Epstein quote: "My wife who is non-Jewish regrets it all the time that I can..."
My wife who is non-Jewish regrets it all the time that I can say these terrible things about fellow Jews and she can't. Joseph Epstein
Joseph Epstein quote: "Envy is never general, but always very particular - at least..."
Envy is never general, but always very particular - at least envy of the kind one feels strongly. Joseph Epstein
I just know so many people who have six or seven foreign languages and have read everything and have musical training and they are still dorks. Joseph Epstein
I was recently asked what it takes to become a writer. Three things, I answered: first, one must cultivate incompetence at almost every other form of profitable work. This must be accompanied, second, by a haughty contempt for all the forms of work that one has established that one cannot do. To these two must be joined, third, the nuttiness to believe that other people can be made to care about your opinions and views and be charmed by the way you state them. Incompetence, contempt,... Joseph Epstein
Joseph Epstein quote: "By the way, the secret of speaking French is confidence...."
By the way, the secret of speaking French is confidence. Whether you are right or wrong, you don't hesitate. Joseph Epstein

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