James Fenimore Cooper Quotes

The French dine to gratify, we to appease appetite," observed John Sanderson. "We demolish dinner, they eat it." The general misconception back home was that French food was highly seasoned, but not at all, wrote James Fenimore Cooper. The genius in French cookery was "in blending flavors and in arranging compounds in such a manner as to produce ... the lightest and most agreeable food." The charm of a French dinner, like so much in French life, was the "effect. ~ David McCullough

I have attended church-service in the garrisons, and tried hard ... to join in the prayers ... but never could raise within me the solemn feelings and true affection that I feel when alone with God in the forest. There I seem to stand face to face with my Master; all around me is fresh and beautiful, as it came from His hand; and there is no nicety or doctrine to chill the feelings. No no; the woods are the true temple after all, for there the thoughts are free to mount higher even than the clouds. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Men who, in their hearts, really care no more for mankind than See-wise cared for the fish, lift their voices in shouts of a spurious humanity, in order to raise themselves to power, on the shoulders of an excited populace. Bloodshed, domestic violence, impracticable efforts to attain an impossible perfection, and all the evils of a civil conflict are forgotten or blindly attempted, in order to raise themselves in the arms of those they call the people. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Men are seldom struck by incongruities in their appearance any more than their own conduct. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

We are all human, and all do wrong. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

The result of this conversation was a sudden determination to produce a work which, if it had no other merit, might present truer pictures of the ocean and ships than any that are to be found in the Pirate. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

To those who live in the narrow circle of human interests and human feelings, there ever exists, unheeded, almost unnoticed, before their very eyes, the most humbling proofs of their own comparative insignificance in the scale of creation, which, in the midst of their admitted mastery over the earth and all it contains, it would be well for them to consider, if they would obtain just views of what they are and what they were intended to be. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

The tree blossoms, and bears its fruit, which falls, rots, withers, and even the seed is lost! Go, count the rings of the oak and of the sycamore; the lie in circles, one about another, until the eye is blinded in striving to make out their numbers; and yet a full change of the seasons comes round while the stem is winding one of those little lines about itself, like the buffalo changing his coat, or the buck his horns; and what does it all amount to? There does the noble tree fill its place in the forest, loftier, and grander, and richer, and more difficult to imitate, than any of your pitiful pillars, for a thousand years, until the time which the Lord hath given it is full. Then come the winds, that you cannot see, to rive its bark; and the waters from the heavens, to soften its pores; and the rot, which all can feel and none can understand, to humble its pride and bring it to the ground. From that moment its beauty begins to perish. It lies another hundred years; a mouldering log, and then a mound of moss and earth; a sad effigy of a human grave. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

I've been writing about James Fenimore Cooper. He was not a writer. Here was a man who was 30 years old and had never put anything more than his signature on paper. ~ Leslie Fiedler

..that all-seeing eye which reads the heart, could not fail to discriminate between the living and the dead, and the gentle soul of the unfortunate girl was already far removed beyond the errors, or deceptions, of any human ritual. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

The woods are but the ears of the Almighty, the air is his breath, and the light of the sun is little more than a glance of his eye. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Mendacity and vulgarity can only permanently affect those who resort to their use. (Ch 17) ~ James Fenimore Cooper

If mankind conversed only of the things they understood, half the words might be struck out of the dictionaries. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

God planted the seeds of all the trees," continued Hetty, after a moment's pause, "and you see to what a height and shade they have grown! So it is with the Bible. You may read a verse this year, and forget it, and it will come back to you a year hence, when you least expect to remember it. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Say to these kind and gentle females, that a heart-broken and failing man returns them his thanks. Tell them, that the Being we all worship, under different names, will be mindful of their charity; and that the time shall not be distant when we may assemble around His throne without distinction of sex, or rank, or color. The ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Advice is not a gift, but a debt that the old owe to the young. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence than that which he partakes in common with all around him, will never have any other than an existence of mediocrity. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

No! You stay alive! Submit, do you hear? You're strong, you survive. You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you ... (Hawkeye / The Last of the Mohicans) 97 ~ James Fenimore Cooper

But even the falsest of men pay so much homage to truth as to seem its votaries. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Content is a great fortifier of good looks. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

The European who comes to America plunges into the virgin forest with wonder and delight; while the American who goes to Europe finds his greatest pleasure, at first, in hunting up the memorials of the past. Each is in quest of novelty, and is burning with the desire to gaze at objects of which he has often read. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Even the robin and the martin come back, year after year, to their old nests; shall a woman be less true hearted than a bird? ~ James Fenimore Cooper

The deer that goes too often to the lick meets the hunter at last! ~ James Fenimore Cooper

In America the taint of sectarianism lies broad upon the land. Not content with acknowledging the supremacy as the Deity, and with erecting temples in his honor, where all can bow down with reverence, the pride and vanity of human reason enter into and pollute our worship, and the houses that should be of God and for God, alone, where he is to be honored with submissive faith, are too often merely schools of metaphysical and useless distinctions. The nation is sectarian, rather than Christian.
Religion's first lesson is humility; its fruit, charity. In the great and sublime ends of Providence, little things are lost, and least of all is he imbued with a right spirit who believes that insignificant observances, subtleties of doctrine, and minor distinctions, enter into the great essentials of the Christian character. The wisest thing for him who is disposed to cavil at the immaterial habits of his neighbor, to split straws on doctrine, to fancy trifles of importance, and to place the man before principles, would be to distrust himself. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

A man without conscience is but a poor creature ... ~ James Fenimore Cooper

For flowers that will bloom in a garden will die on a heath ... ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Knowledge is the parent of knowledge. He who possesses most of the information of his age will not quietly submit to neglect its current acquisitions, but will go on improving as long as means and opportunities offer; while he who finds himself ignorant of most things, is only too apt to shrink from a labour which becomes Herculean. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Nothing is easier to us who pass our time in the great school of Providence than to l'arn its lessons. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

... As for me, I taught the lad the real character of a rifle; and well has he paid me for it. I have fought at his side in many a bloody scrimmage; and so long as I could hear the crack of his piece in one ear, and that of the Sagamore in the other, I knew no enemy was on my back. Winters and summers, nights and days, have we roved the wilderness in company, eating of the same dish, one sleeping while the other watched; and afore it shall be said that Uncas was taken to the torment, and I at hand - There is but a single ruler of us all, whatever maybe the color of the skin, and him I call to witness - that before the Mohican boy shall perish for the want of a friend, good faith shall depart the 'arth and 'Kill-deer' become as harmless as the tooting we'pon of the singer! ~ James Fenimore Cooper

It is the fate of all things to ripen, and then to decay. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Come, friend; you are welcome, though your notions are a little blinded with reading too many books. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

I care not for your envy, or your hypocrisy, or even for your human nature. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

I can never tire of speaking of the bridges of Paris. By day and by night have I paused on them to gaze at their views; the word not being too comprehensive for the crowds and groupings of objects that are visible from their arches. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

We live in a world of endless transgressions and selfishness, and no pictures that represent us otherwise can be true. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Patience is the greatest of virtues in a woodsman. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Nevertheless, likin' is a tender plant, and never thrives long when watered with tears. Let the 'arth around your married happiness be moistened by the dews of kindness. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Your young white, who gathers his learning from books and can measure what he knows by the page, may conceit that his knowledge, like his legs, outruns that of his fathers', but, where experience is the master, the scholar is made to know the value of years, and respects them accordingly. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Washington, who, after uselessly admonishing the European general of the danger into which he was heedlessly running, saved the remnants of the British army, on this occasion, by his decision and courage. The reputation earned by Washington in this battle was the principal cause of his being selected to command the American armies at a later day. It is a circumstance worthy of observation, that while all America rang with his well-merited reputation, his name does not occur in any European account of the battle; at least the author has searched for it without success. In this manner does the mother country absorb even the fame, under that system of rule. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Now Mr. Green was so completely a star of a confined orbit, that his ideas seldom described a tangent to their ordinary revolutions. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Then he was wrong, Hurry; very wrong. A man can enjoy plunder peaceably nowhere. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

...every period of life has its necessities, and at forty-seven it's just as well to trust a little to the head. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Mankind twist and turn the rules of the Lord, to suit their own wickedness, when their devilish cunning has had too much time to trifle with His command. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

The arches of the woods, even at high noon, cast their sombre shadows on the spot, which the brilliant rays of the sun that struggled through the leaves contributed to mellow, and if such an expression can be used, to illuminate. It was probably from a similar scene that the mind of man first got its idea of the effects of gothic tracery and churchly hues, this temple of nature producing some such effect, so far as light and shadow were concerned, as the well-known offspring of human invention. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

happy hunting-grounds ~ James Fenimore Cooper

My eyes are true and as delicate as a hummingbird's in the day; but they are nothing worth boasting of by starlight. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Is it justice to make evil, and then punish for it? ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Life is sweet, even to the aged; and, for that matter, I've known some that seemed to set much store by it when it got to be of the least value. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

An interesting fiction ... however paradoxical the assertion may appear ... addresses our love of truth- not the mere love of facts expressed by true names and dates, but the love of that higher truth, the truth of nature and principals, which is a primitive law of the human mind. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

It should be remembered that men always prize that most which is least enjoyed. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Tis hard to live in a world where all look upon you as below them. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

My day has been too long. In the morning I saw the sons of the Unamis happy and strong; and yet, before the sun has come, have I lived to see the last warrior of the wise race of the Mohicans. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Else would my scalp long since have been drying in a Mingo wigwam. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

If a man believed all that other people choose to say in their own favor, he might get an oversized opinion of them, and an undersized opinion of himself. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Has dropped into the river, said Hurry, after looking carefully along ~ James Fenimore Cooper

The air, the water, and the ground are free gifts to man, and no one has the power to portion them out in parcels. Man must drink, breath, and walk - and therefore each has a right to his share of earth. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

We live in a world of transgressions and selfishness, and no pictures that represent us otherwise can be true; though happily for human nature, gleamings of that pure spirit in whose likeness man has been fashioned, are to be seen, relieving its deformities, and mitigating, if not excusing its crimes. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Tis open before your eyes," returned the scout; "and he who knows it is not a niggard of its use. I have heard it said that there are men who read in books to convince themselves there is a God. I know not but man may deform his works in the settlement, as to leave that which is so clear in the wilderness a matter of doubt among traders and priests. If any such there be, and he will follow me from sun to sun, through the windings of the forest, he shall see enough to teach him that he is a fool, and the greatest of his folly lies in striving to rise to the level of One he can never equal, be it in goodness, or be it in power. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Nothing but vast wisdom and onlimited power should dare sweep men off in multitudes,' he added; 'for it is only the one that can know the necessity of the judgement; and what is there short of the other, that can replace the creatures of the Lord? ~ James Fenimore Cooper

History, like love, is so apt to surround her heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Walking about streets, going to church of Sundays, and hearing sermons, never yet made a man of a human being. Send the boy out upon the broad ocean, if you wish to open his eyes, and let him look upon foreign nations, or what I call the face of nature, if you wish him to understand his own character. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

I have passed days thinking of these matters, out in the silent woods, and I have come to the opinion, boy, that as Providence rules all things, no gift is bestowed without some wise and reasonable end. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

They linger yet, Avengers of their native land." - Gray ~ James Fenimore Cooper

The novice in the military art flew from point to point, retarding his own preparations by the excess of his violent and somewhat distempered zeal; while the more practiced veteran made his arrangements with a deliberation that scorned every appearance of haste ~ James Fenimore Cooper

A thing which is of no moment itself may be made of importance in the way of competition. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

As bright examples of great qualities are but too uncommon among Christians, so are they singular and solitary with the Indians; though, for the honor of our common nature, neither are incapable of producing them. Let us then hope that this Mohican may not disappoint our wishes, but prove, what his looks assert him to be, a brave and constant friend.
The last of the Mohicans by: James Fenimore Cooper ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Equality, in a social sense, may be divided into that of condition, and that of rights. Equality of condition is incompatible with civilization, and is found only to exist in those communities that are but slightly removed from the savage state. In practice, it can only mean a common misery. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Mr. Dodge, you have the high consolation of knowing that, throughout this trying occasion, you have conducted yourself in a way no other man of the party could have done. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Then as to churches, they are good, I suppose, else wouldn't good men uphold' em. But they are not altogether necessary. They call 'em the temples of the Lord; but, Judith, the whole 'arth is a temple of the Lord to such as have the right mind. Neither forts nor churches make people happier of themselves. Moreover, all is contradiction in the settlements, while all is concord in the woods. Forts and churches almost always go together, and yet they're downright contradictions; churches being for peace, and forts for war. No, no
give me the strong places of the wilderness, which is the trees, and the churches, too, which are arbors raised by the hand of nature. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

It's wisest always to be so clad that our friends need not ask us for our names. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

...nothing that crawls the earth is for my sport. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

All places that the eye of heaven visits/ Are to a wise man ports and happy havens:/ Think not the king did banish thee:/ But thou the king.
Richard II ~ James Fenimore Cooper

It is better for a man to die at peace with himself than to live haunted by an evil conscience! ~ James Fenimore Cooper

You are young, and rich, and have friends, and at such an age I know it is hard to die! ~ James Fenimore Cooper

For though the quiet of deep solitude reigned in that vast and nearly boundless forest, nature was speaking with her thousand tongues in the eloquent language of night in a wilderness. The air sighed through ten thousand trees, the water ripped, and at places even roared along the shores; and now and then was heard the creaking of a branch or a trunk, as it rubbed against some object similar to itself, under the vibrations of a nicely balanced body. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

The sudden falling of the trees are the most dangerous of our accidents in the forest, for they are not to be foreseen, being impelled by no winds, nor any extraneous or visible cause, against which we can guard. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

I too can play the madman, the fool, the hero; in short, any or everything to rescue her I love. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

Battles, unlike bargains, are rarely discussed in society. ~ James Fenimore Cooper

There have been daring people in the world who claimed that Fenimore Cooper could write English, but they are all dead now. ~ Mark Twain

He who lacks imagination lives but half a life. He has his experiences, he has his facts, he has his learning. But do any of these really live unless touched by the magic of the imagination? ~ Paul Fenimore Cooper

It is the peculiar nature of the forest, that life and death may ever be found within its bounds, in immediate presence of each other; both with ceaseless, noiseless advances, aiming at the mastery; and if the influences of the first be most general, those of the last are the most striking. ~ Susan Fenimore Cooper

We Are Called We are all called. Called by the wind, the rushing water, the fireflies, the summer sun. Called by the sidewalk, the playground, the laughing children, the streetlights. Called by our appetites and gifts - our needs and challenges. Called by the bottle, the needle, the powder, the pill, the game, the bet, the need, the want, the pain, the cure, the love, the hope, the dream. Called by the Spirit of Love and Hope, and visions of God's purpose for our lives. We are all called. What do we choose? How do we answer? - Natalie Fenimore ~ Jacqui James

she was okay. Nico had been told about the family business when he started college, ~ Michelle St. James

God's penis would still rank high among those vistas a priest and a nun could not comfortably share. ~ James K. Morrow

I do think to some extent multitasking is a way of fooling ourselves that we're being exceptionally efficient. ~ James Surowiecki

Ignore me. I don't want to talk about my nonexistent love life today. ~ Julie James

Our findings do not represent a quick fix, or the next fashion statement in a long string of management fads, or the next buzzword of the day, or a new 'program' to introduce. No! The only way to make any company visionary is through a long-term commitment to an eternal process of building the organization to preserve the core and stimulate progress. ~ James C. Collins

Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot. ~ James Mattis

Preparation for war is a constant stimulus to suspicion and ill will. ~ James Monroe

You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by. Yes, but some of them are golden only because we let them slip. ~ James M. Barrie

By travelling to all the corners of the globe it allows me to further define the ever changing world we live in, which in turn helps me to redefine myself, therefore it is an important process towards becoming a complete person. ~ Andrew James Pritchard

I stood staring to heaven and nothing came from there, no mercy or redemption. Whatever had come had come already and it was not sent by God. I stood, arms outstretched and empty, like a man praying but I was not praying, I was crying, because it had come to this and I had come to this place, and they were not with me... they were gone for ever. ~ James Robertson

I tend to gravitate toward reporters who cover all aspects of the story: from personal aspects to the big picture that answer the 'so what' of a story. ~ James G. Stavridis

I mean, I could go ahead and cut my head off in the guillotine, and it looks great, ... Well, now you turn on CNN and guys are really getting their heads cut off ... As insane as our fantasy world gets, it's nowhere near as scary as reality. ~ Alice Cooper

Writing a book makes you an expert in the field. At the very least, when you hand someone a book you wrote, it's more impressive than handing a business card. ~ James Altucher

Gods are children's blankets that get carried over into adulthood. ~ James Randi

I always read a lot as a kid and I'd spend long periods of time in my room reading ... I wasn't reading anything great until I got older, but I used to read Agatha Christie mysteries and all of Ian Fleming's 'James Bond' novels. ~ Michael Riedel

Why, Jack-off ... You actually have a sense of humor! You should share that playful side more often. Guys really go for it. ~ Lorelei James

When U.S. prisoners were killed, it was "murder in flagrant disregard of the Geneva Conventions." But when Americans murdered Others, "they had it coming to them. ~ James D. Bradley

You have to wait for your mind to catch up with whatever it is it's working on; then you can write a novel. ~ James M. Cain

True rebels after all, are as rare as true lovers,and in both cases, to mistake a fever for passion can destroy one's life ~ James Baldwin