Ernest Hemingway, an iconic figure in American literature, was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, USA, and passed away on July 2, 1961. His concise and understated style had a significant impact on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway’s body of work includes classics such as “The Old Man and the Sea,” “A Farewell to Arms,” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Through 100 best quotes of Ernest Hemingway, we explored themes of love, war, loss, and the human condition, leaving behind a treasure trove of insights on life and art. We considered him one of the 100 best American of the time.
Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Personal Virtues and Growth
Ernest Hemingway’s literature and personal philosophy have profoundly impacted the understanding of personal virtues and growth. His experiences as a journalist, an ambulance driver in World War I, and a novelist who lived abroad have colored his perceptions of virtue, courage, and perseverance.
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Character
“Courage is grace under pressure.”
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
“There is no friend as loyal as a book.”
“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Education
“I am always learning, always discovering.”
“Never stop because you are afraid – you are never so likely to be wrong.”
“You shouldn’t write if you can’t write.”
“The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector.”
“All things truly wicked start from innocence.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Knowledge
“I know now that there is no one thing that is true – it is all true.”
“The best ammunition against lies is the truth.”
“Writing, at its best, is a lonely life.”
“For a true writer, each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment.”
“There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Intelligence
“A man’s intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting points of view he can entertain simultaneously on the same topic.”
“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
“An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.”
“You must be prepared to work always without applause.”
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Wisdom
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
“But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
“Never confuse movement with action.”
“Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now.”
“As you get older, it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Virtue
“There is no lonelier man in death, except the suicide, than that man who has lived many years with a good wife and then outlived her.”
“In order to write about life first you must live it.”
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
“The first and final thing you have to do in this world is to last it and not be smashed by it.”
“Fear of death increases in exact proportion to increase in wealth.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Ethics
“About morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.”
“There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.”
“I drink to make other people more interesting.”
“All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called ‘Huckleberry Finn.'”
“A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Morality
“So far, about morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after.”
“What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.”
“Deciding not to choose is still a choice for which you must be responsible.”
“There is no such thing as moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written.”
“A writer should write what he has to say and not speak it.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Courage
“But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
“Courage is grace under pressure.”
“The real reason for not committing suicide is because you always know how swell life gets again after the hell is over.”
“You are so brave and quiet I forget you are suffering.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Hard Work
“There is no friend as loyal as a book.”
“Work every day. No matter what has happened the day or night before, get up and bite on the nail.”
“The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.”
“It’s none of their business that you have to learn how to write. Let them think you were born that way.”
“Forget your personal tragedy. We are all bitched from the start and you especially have to be hurt like hell before you can write seriously.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Excellence
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
“Write hard and clear about what hurts.”
“The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector.”
“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
“To be a successful father… there’s one absolute rule: when you have a kid, don’t look at it for the first two years.”
Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Interpersonal Relations and Inner Life
Ernest Hemingway’s observations on human relationships and the inner workings of the mind reveal a deep understanding of the complexity of love, friendship, and the solitary nature of existence.
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Love
“The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.”
“We are all broken, that’s how the light gets in.”
“Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.”
“You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.”
“There’s no one thing that’s true. It’s all true.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Happiness
“For happiness one needs security, but joy can spring like a flower even from the cliffs of despair.”
“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”
“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”
“Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.”
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Soul
“I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.”
“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.”
“When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.”
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Empathy
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
“The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.”
“There is no friend as loyal as a book.”
“As you get older, it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.”
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Trust
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
“There’s no one thing that’s true. It’s all true.”
“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.”
“For a true writer, each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed.”
“All you need to do is write truly and not care about what the fate of it is.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Friendship
“There is no friend as loyal as a book.”
“There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends.”
“But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
“A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
“Writing, at its best, is a lonely life. Organizations for writers palliate the writer’s loneliness but I doubt if they improve his writing.”
Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Societal Values and Governance
Ernest Hemingway’s experiences as a journalist and novelist provided him with a unique perspective on society, justice, and governance. His observations and reflections offer timeless wisdom on leadership, community, and the human condition.
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Society
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”
“The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin.”
“There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.”
“Madness is something rare in individuals — but in groups, parties, peoples, and ages, it is the rule.”
“You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There’s nothing to that.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Justice
“There is no such thing as justice, in or out of court.”
“Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and the dates.”
“I know now that there is no one thing that is true – it is all true.”
“For a war to be just three conditions are necessary – public authority, just cause, right motive.”
“The world is a fine place and worth fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Democracy
“All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened.”
“In modern war… you will die like a dog for no good reason.”
“Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind and I like to write standing up.”
“What is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.”
“Courage is grace under pressure.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Constitution
“I wish to heaven I was married to you were married to me. Be damned to the constitution.”
“A man’s got to take a lot of punishment to write a really funny book.”
“To be a successful father… there’s one absolute rule: when you have a kid, don’t look at it for the first two years.”
“The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector.”
“The only kind of writing is rewriting.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Leadership
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
“Never mistake motion for action.”
“When you stop doing things for fun you might as well be dead.”
“In order to write about life, first you must live it.”
“There is always a way to go if you look for it.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Politics
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”
“I am against all wars, but when they are unavoidable, they should be fought to win.”
“A man who has been through bitter experiences and travelled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time.”
“All thinking men are atheists.”
“The writer’s job is to tell the truth.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Government
“The best way to find out if you can trust your government is to trust it.”
“As you get older, it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.”
“The real reason for not committing suicide is because you always know how swell life gets again after the hell is over.”
“Fear of death increases in exact proportion to increase in wealth.”
“The rich were dull and they drank too much, or they played too much backgammon. They were dull and they were repetitious.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Law
“There is no such thing as justice, in or out of court.”
“I know now that there is no one thing that is true – it is all true.”
“A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
“An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Power
“Power is what men seek and any group that gets it will abuse it.”
“The earth makes a man want to write even if it is only the Declaration of Independence or the Sears Roebuck catalog.”
“There is no friend as loyal as a book.”
“You are so brave and quiet I forget you are suffering.”
“Writing, at its best, is a lonely life.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Community
“There’s no one thing that’s true. It’s all true.”
“Man is not made for defeat.”
“A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
“The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.”
“But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason.”
5 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes on Cultural Awareness
“The only real writing is rewriting.”
“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.”
“Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind and I like to write standing up.”
“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”
Final Words on Ernest Hemingway Quotes
Ernest Hemingway’s literary genius and life experiences provided a profound insight into the human condition, personal growth, relationships, and societal dynamics. His quotes serve as a beacon for those navigating the tumultuous seas of life, encouraging a courageous, authentic, and empathetic approach to living. Encapsulated in these 100 best quotes of Ernest Hemingway, continues to inspire and challenge us to live deeply and write our own unique stories with honesty and passion.
