80 Best John Steinbeck Quotes To Expand Your Mind

1. I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are so few great artists. ~ John Steinbeck

1. I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are so few great artists.

2. I wonder how many people I have looked at all my life and never seen. ~ John Steinbeck

2. I wonder how many people I have looked at all my life and never seen.

3. The free exploring mind of the individual human being is the most valuable thing in the world. ~ John Steinbeck

3. The free exploring mind of the individual human being is the most valuable thing in the world.

4. I believe that a strong woman can be stronger than a man, particularly if she has love in her heart. ~ John Steinbeck

4. I believe that a strong woman can be stronger than a man, particularly if she has love in her heart.

5. Of all the animals in creation, man is the only one who drinks without being thirsty, eats without being hungry and talks without having anything to say. ~ John Steinbeck

5. Of all the animals in creation, man is the only one who drinks without being thirsty, eats without being hungry and talks without having anything to say.

6. The art of rest is a part of the art of working. ~ John Steinbeck

6. The art of rest is a part of the art of working.

7. Nobody wants advice, only corroborations. ~ John Steinbeck

7. Nobody wants advice, only corroborations.

8. I wonder why progress is seen more than destruction. ~ John Steinbeck

8. I wonder why progress is seen more than destruction.

9. A question is a trap, and an answer sets foot in it. ~ John Steinbeck

9. A question is a trap, and an answer sets foot in it.

10. By the thickness of the dust on the books of a public library, the culture of a people can be measured. ~ John Steinbeck

10. By the thickness of the dust on the books of a public library, the culture of a people can be measured.

11. Maybe everyone is afraid of everyone else in this damn world. ~ John Steinbeck

11. Maybe everyone is afraid of everyone else in this damn world.

12. Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple, learn to care for them, and pretty soon you’ll have a dozen. ~ John Steinbeck

12. Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple, learn to care for them, and pretty soon you'll have a dozen.

13. I was born lost and I don’t like to be found. ~ John Steinbeck

13. I was born lost and I don't like to be found.

14. You must not forget that a monster is only a variation, and that for a monster the norm is monstrous. ~ John Steinbeck

14. You must not forget that a monster is only a variation, and that for a monster the norm is monstrous.

15. In human affairs where there is danger and care must be taken, a happy ending can be seriously jeopardized by haste. ~ John Steinbeck

15. In human affairs where there is danger and care must be taken, a happy ending can be seriously jeopardized by haste.

16. Perhaps the best conversationalist in the world is the one who helps others speak. ~ John Steinbeck

16. Perhaps the best conversationalist in the world is the one who helps others speak.

17. There is more beauty in the truth, even if it is a terrible truth. ~ John Steinbeck

17. There is more beauty in the truth, even if it is a terrible truth.

18. It doesn’t take a brain to be good. And sometimes I think it’s the opposite. ~ John Steinbeck

18. It doesn't take a brain to be good. And sometimes I think it's the opposite.

19. It is much darker when a light goes out than it might have been if the light had never shone. ~ John Steinbeck

19. It is much darker when a light goes out than it might have been if the light had never shone.

20. What use would the heat of summer be without the cold of winter to give it sweetness? ~ John Steinbeck

20. What use would the heat of summer be without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?

21. You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself. ~ John Steinbeck

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21. You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself.

22. A city is a lot like an animal. It has a nervous system, a head, shoulders, and feet. It is separated from the other cities, in such a way that no two are identical. And it is also an emotional whole. ~ John Steinbeck

22. A city is a lot like an animal. It has a nervous system, a head, shoulders, and feet. It is separated from the other cities, in such a way that no two are identical. And it is also an emotional whole.

23. The discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty. ~ John Steinbeck

23. The discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty.

24. With a few exceptions, what men want is not money, but luxury, love and being admired. ~ John Steinbeck

24. With a few exceptions, what men want is not money, but luxury, love and being admired.

25. We only have one story. ~ John Steinbeck

25. We only have one story.

26. The intention, good or bad, is not enough. ~ John Steinbeck

26. The intention, good or bad, is not enough.

27. Those who win the battles are the sheep, but those who win the wars are the free men. ~ John Steinbeck

27. Those who win the battles are the sheep, but those who win the wars are the free men.

28. You are no longer a man; you are a soldier. Your worries don’t matter, Lieutenant, and your life doesn’t matter, either. ~ John Steinbeck

28. You are no longer a man; you are a soldier. Your worries don't matter, Lieutenant, and your life doesn't matter, either.

29. Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of losing power. ~ John Steinbeck

29. Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of losing power.

30. How can we live without our lives? How will we know about ourselves without our past? ~ John Steinbeck

30. How can we live without our lives? How will we know about ourselves without our past?

31. Change comes like a small breeze that shakes the curtains at dawn, it comes like the discreet perfume of wild flowers, hidden in the grass. ~ John Steinbeck

31. Change comes like a small breeze that shakes the curtains at dawn, it comes like the discreet perfume of wild flowers, hidden in the grass.

32. All great and precious things are lonely. ~ John Steinbeck

32. All great and precious things are lonely.

33. My imagination will give me a passport to hell one day. ~ John Steinbeck

33. My imagination will give me a passport to hell one day.

34. People like you to be something, preferably who they are. ~ John Steinbeck

34. People like you to be something, preferably who they are.

35. In front of us there are a thousand different lives that we could live, but when it arrives, it will only be one. ~ John Steinbeck

35. In front of us there are a thousand different lives that we could live, but when it arrives, it will only be one.

36. All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal. ~ John Steinbeck

36. All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal.

37. If you are in trouble, hurt or in need, go to the poor. They are the only ones who will help, the only ones. ~ John Steinbeck

37. If you are in trouble, hurt or in need, go to the poor. They are the only ones who will help, the only ones.

38. Greatness lives in those who triumph over defeat and victory. ~ John Steinbeck

38. Greatness lives in those who triumph over defeat and victory.

39. I will take revenge in the cruelest way you can imagine. I’ll forget it. ~ John Steinbeck

39. I will take revenge in the cruelest way you can imagine. I'll forget it.

40. And the strident little fact that echoes throughout history: repression only serves to strengthen and knit together the repressed. ~ John Steinbeck

40. And the strident little fact that echoes throughout history: repression only serves to strengthen and knit together the repressed.

41. I guess there are never enough books. ~ John Steinbeck

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41. I guess there are never enough books.

42. The weight of knowledge is too great for one mind to absorb. ~ John Steinbeck

42. The weight of knowledge is too great for one mind to absorb.

43. Don’t worry about losing. If it’s correct, it happens. The main thing is not to rush. Nothing good escapes. ~ John Steinbeck

43. Don't worry about losing. If it's correct, it happens. The main thing is not to rush. Nothing good escapes.

44. Men don’t get knocked out, or I mean they can hold their own against important things. What kills them is erosion; they are set to fail. They slowly get scared. ~ John Steinbeck

44. Men don't get knocked out, or I mean they can hold their own against important things. What kills them is erosion; they are set to fail. They slowly get scared.

45. It is in the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected of him. ~ John Steinbeck

45. It is in the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected of him.

46. ​​Socialism is just another form of religion and therefore delusional. ~ John Steinbeck

46. ​​Socialism is just another form of religion and therefore delusional.

47. It is a common experience that a difficult problem at night is solved in the morning after the sleep committee has worked on it. ~ John Steinbeck

47. It is a common experience that a difficult problem at night is solved in the morning after the sleep committee has worked on it.

48. To be alive is to have scars. ~ John Steinbeck

48. To be alive is to have scars.

49. It would be absurd if we did not understand both angels and demons since we invented them. ~ John Steinbeck

49. It would be absurd if we did not understand both angels and demons since we invented them.

50. If you understand each other, you will be kind to each other. ~ John Steinbeck

50. If you understand each other, you will be kind to each other.

51. And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good. ~ John Steinbeck

51. And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.

52. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling up and gaining weight for the vintage. ~ John Steinbeck

52. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling up and gaining weight for the vintage.

53. Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals. ~ John Steinbeck

53. Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals.

54. I will fight against any idea, religion or government that limits or destroys the individual. ~ John Steinbeck

54. I will fight against any idea, religion or government that limits or destroys the individual.

55. There is no better springboard than a bad conscience to jump into philanthropy. ~ John Steinbeck

55. There is no better springboard than a bad conscience to jump into philanthropy.

56. You can know this: fear the moment when man stops suffering and dying for a concept, because this quality is man himself, and what differentiates him in the universe as a whole. ~ John Steinbeck

56. You can know this: fear the moment when man stops suffering and dying for a concept, because this quality is man himself, and what differentiates him in the universe as a whole.

57. Fear infiltrated the houses where they were staying and made them sad, and it hung over the patrols and made them cruel. ~ John Steinbeck

57. Fear infiltrated the houses where they were staying and made them sad, and it hung over the patrols and made them cruel.

58. You see it a lot in war: a coward who becomes a hero and a brave man who crashes in flames. ~ John Steinbeck

58. You see it a lot in war: a coward who becomes a hero and a brave man who crashes in flames.

59. All novels, all poetry, are built on the endless struggle between good and evil that takes place within us. ~ John Steinbeck

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59. All novels, all poetry, are built on the endless struggle between good and evil that takes place within us.

60. Money is very easy to make if you don’t want anything else. ~ John Steinbeck

60. Money is very easy to make if you don't want anything else.

61. That is why I will fight in favor of freedom of thought, so that you can follow the direction you want, without impositions or ties. ~ John Steinbeck

61. That is why I will fight in favor of freedom of thought, so that you can follow the direction you want, without impositions or ties.

62. People do not take trips, it is the trips that make people. ~ John Steinbeck

62. People do not take trips, it is the trips that make people.

63. Teaching can be the greatest of arts, since the medium is the human mind and spirit. ~ John Steinbeck

63. Teaching can be the greatest of arts, since the medium is the human mind and spirit.

64. One can find so many pains when the rain is falling. ~ John Steinbeck

64. One can find so many pains when the rain is falling.

65. A very smart guy is hardly ever a good man. ~ John Steinbeck

65. A very smart guy is hardly ever a good man.

66. When a man says that he doesn’t want to talk about something, it usually means that he can’t think of anything else. ~ John Steinbeck

66. When a man says that he doesn't want to talk about something, it usually means that he can't think of anything else.

67. Human beings sometimes have more venom than snakes. ~ John Steinbeck

67. Human beings sometimes have more venom than snakes.

68. Very often men stumble and fall because of excessive precipitation. ~ John Steinbeck

68. Very often men stumble and fall because of excessive precipitation.

69. It doesn’t take courage to do a thing when it’s the only thing you can do. ~ John Steinbeck

69. It doesn't take courage to do a thing when it's the only thing you can do.

70. And of course, people are only interested in themselves. If a story isn’t about the listener, he won’t listen. ~ John Steinbeck

70. And of course, people are only interested in themselves. If a story isn't about the listener, he won't listen.

71. There is no sin and there is no virtue. There is only what people do. ~ John Steinbeck

71. There is no sin and there is no virtue. There is only what people do.

72. Under his shell of cowardice, man aspires to goodness and wants to be loved. If he takes the path of vice, it is because he thought he was taking a shortcut that would lead him to love. ~ John Steinbeck

72. Under his shell of cowardice, man aspires to goodness and wants to be loved. If he takes the path of vice, it is because he thought he was taking a shortcut that would lead him to love.

73. It is curious how distant a misfortune is when it does not concern us personally. ~ John Steinbeck

73. It is curious how distant a misfortune is when it does not concern us personally.

74. In absolute solitude a writer tries to explain the inexplicable. ~ John Steinbeck

74. In absolute solitude a writer tries to explain the inexplicable.

75. A sad soul can kill faster than a germ. ~ John Steinbeck

75. A sad soul can kill faster than a germ.

76. Time is the only critic, no ambition. ~ John Steinbeck

76. Time is the only critic, no ambition.

77. A trip is like marriage. One is mistaken if he thinks that he has everything under control. ~ John Steinbeck

77. A trip is like marriage. One is mistaken if he thinks that he has everything under control.

78. A truth that is not believed hurts us much more than a lie. ~ John Steinbeck

78. A truth that is not believed hurts us much more than a lie.

79. I guess a loving woman is indestructible. ~ John Steinbeck

79. I guess a loving woman is indestructible.

80. When two people meet, each is changed by the other, so you have two new people. ~ John Steinbeck

80. When two people meet, each is changed by the other, so you have two new people.