Women and birds are able to see without turning their heads, and that is indeed a necessary provision for they are both surrounded by enemies.

- James Stephens

It is by love alone that we understand anything

- James Stephens

Men come of age at sixty, women at fifteen.

- James Stephens

Tell me your past, my beloved, for a man is his past, and is to be known by it.

- James Stephens

You must be fit to give before you can be fit to receive.

- James Stephens

Originality does not consist in saying what no one has ever said before, but in saying exactly what you think yourself.

- James Stephens

The duty of a lyrical poet is not to express or explain, it is to intensify life.

- James Stephens

We get wise by asking questions, and even if these are not answered we get wise, for a well-packed question carries its answer on its back as a snail…

- James Stephens

A woman is a branchy tree and man a singing wind; and from her branches carelessly he takes what he can find.

- James Stephens