“We seem tragically unable to help one another, to understand one another.”

— John Cheever, The Journals of John Cheever, 1991 (1963 entry)

About John Cheever

1912 – 1982

American novelist and short-story writer.

“Art is the triumph over chaos.”

“Admire the world. Relish the love of a gentle woman. Trust in the lord.”

“When the beginnings of self-destruction enter the heart it seems no bigger than a grain of sand.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”