O Henry Quotes

O. Henry (1862-1910)

William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer. (O Henry Quotes)

“According to the strange mathematics of the god of mutual affinity, the shadows that clouded their pasts when united became only half as dense instead of darker.- The World And The Door”
O. Henry

“All of us have to be prevaricators, hypocrites, and liars every day of our lives; otherwise the social structure would fall into pieces the first day. We must act in one another’s presence just as we must wear clothes. It is for the best”
O. Henry

“But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.”
O. Henry

“Each of us, when our day’s work is done, must seek our ideal, whether it be love or pinochle or lobster à la Newburg, or the sweet silence of the musty bookshelves.”
O. Henry

“He seemed to be made of sunshine and blood-red tissue and clear weather.”
O. Henry

“I wanted to paint a picture some day that people would stand before and forget that it was made of paint. I wanted it to creep into them like a bar of music and mushroom there like a soft bullet.”
O. Henry

“If a person has lived through war, poverty and love, he has lived a full life”
O. Henry

“If men knew how women pass the time when they are alone, they’d never marry.”
O. Henry

“I’ll give you the whole secret to short story writing. Here it is. Rule 1: Write stories that please yourself. There is no Rule 2.”
O. Henry

“In the big city the twin spirits Romance and Adventure are always abroad seeking worthy wooers.”
O. Henry

“Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence”
O. Henry

“It ain’t the roads we take; it’s what’s inside of us that makes us turn out the way we do.”
O. Henry

“It couldn’t have happened anywhere but in little old New York.”
O. Henry

“It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.”
O. Henry

“It was beautiful and simple, as truly great swindles are.”
O. Henry

“Knowledge is a strong stream of water turned on us through a hose. It disturbs our roots”
O. Henry

“Life is full of sniffles sobs and smiles. With sniffles predominating.”
O. Henry

“Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”
O. Henry

“Maybe the hairs on my head were numbered” she went on with a sudden serious sweetness “but nobody could ever count my love for you.”
O. Henry

“No friendship is an accident.”
O. Henry

“Of habit, the power that keeps the earth from flying to pieces; though there is some silly theory of gravitation.”
O. Henry

“The consul was interested in his report. He was only twenty-four; and he had not been in Coralio long enough for his enthusiasm to cool in the heat of the tropics a paradox that may be allowed between Cancer and Capricorn.”
O. Henry

“The gray ghost that sometimes peeps through the rings of smoke is that of slain old King Convention. Freedom is the tyrant that holds them in slavery.”
O. Henry

“The most notable thing about Time is that it is so purely relative. A large amount of reminiscence is, by common consent, conceded to the drowning man; and it is not past belief that one may review an entire courtship while removing one’s gloves.”
O. Henry