Lillian Gish Quotes

What you get is a living, what you give is a life. ~ Lillian Gish

The older I get, the more I believe in what I can't explain or understand, even more than the things that are explainable and understandable. ~ Lillian Gish

Hollywood - an emotional Detroit. ~ Lillian Gish

I never approved of talkies. Silent movies were well on their way to developing an entirely new art form. It was not just pantomine, but something wonderfully expressive. ~ Lillian Gish

As long as you are curious, you will never be bored. ~ Lillian Gish

A happy life is one spent in learning, earning, and yearning. ~ Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish thought that there should be a cabinet position for the arts and I think she was right. I think she was right. ~ Fay Wray

I can't remember a time when I wasn't acting, so I can't imagine what I would do if I stopped now. ~ Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish may be a charming person, but she is not Ophelia. She comes on stage as if she had been sent for to sew rings on the new curtains. ~ Mrs. Patrick Campbell

Never get caught acting. ~ Lillian Gish

I've never been in style, so I can never go out of style. ~ Lillian Gish

You know, when I first went into the movies Lionel Barrymore played my grandfather. Later he played my father and finally he played my husband. If he had lived I'm sure I would have played his mother. That's the way it is in Hollywood. The men get younger and the women get older. ~ Lillian Gish

I'm no relation to Lillian or Dorothy Gish. Not even way back. But when I first became interested in acting, I wrote a letter to Lillian Gish. She wrote back, discouraging me from entering the business. ~ Annabeth Gish

How did you persuade the countess to confess so quickly?" she asked. "I would have thought she would have held out for days. I would have thought she would rather die than admit anything - "
"I'm afraid that was the choice I gave her."
Her eyes widened. "Oh," she whispered.
-Lillian & Marcus ~ Lisa Kleypas

Don't you think people often say other people are tough when they do not know how to cheat them? ~ Lillian Hellman

St. Bernard said, 'Every word one writes smites the Devil. ~ Lillian Stewart Carl

The depth of a friendship - how much it means to us ... depends, at least in part, upon how many parts of ourselves a friend sees, shares and validates. ~ Lillian B. Rubin

Enthusiasm and optimism together. He was enthusiastic about everything. He never thought anything would turn out badly.
----Lillian Disney (on Walt) ~ Marcy Carriker Smothers

I like to listen. I'm much more interested in listening than in speaking, for sure. ~ Gish Jen

For every man who lives without freedom, the rest of us must face the guilt. ~ Lillian Hellman

Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself, 'Lillian, you should have remained a virgin.' ~ Lillian Gordy Carter

I made him take some broth," Lillian explained. "I had the devil of a time getting him to swallow - he wasn't precisely what one would call conscious - but I persisted until I had poured a quarter cup or so down his throat. I think he relented in the hopes that I was a bad dream that might go away if he humored me."
Evie had been unable to induce Sebastian to drink anything since the previous morning. "You are the most wonderful - "
"Yes, yes, I know." Lillian airily waved away the words, uncomfortable as always with praise. "Your tray was just brought up - it's there on the table by the window. Mulled eggs and toast. Eat every bite, dear. I should hate to have to use force on you too. ~ Lisa Kleypas

Lillian walked into every room as if she owned it. She walked across this one as if she owned it but was slightly horrified to find herself there, like a queen in a basement. ~ Sarah Rees Brennan

Greta's cedar hope chest
Is full of pamphlets
Glass shelves of romantic vignettes
A journal laced with sedimentary prose
Norma gathers and collects vintage photoplays
Hair combs valentines
Lillian allows the animals to scratch
And the leather crack
And the mail collect in the box as coatings peel
Agnes veiled cathedral dweller
Smiles with benevolent pain

But it's Katrina's fair
Tuesday morning
As she with caution unlatches the flat door
She alone cascades to the basement
Careful not to spoil her
Calico printed pinafore
Composite traits and mannerists
All others dissipate

Marguerite vigilant
She dwells upon frigid casements
Sarah's thoughts in high velocity
Accusations always pierce and pass
Clara abandons her passions for distastes
A Miss Lenora P. Sinclair
Early for coffee in the pool
"I'm resituating all your words"
Capital Space Colon Paragraph

Sylvia keeps beasts in jars labeled by
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Genus
Species

But it's Katrina's fair
Tuesday morning
As she with caution unlatches the flat door
She alone cascades to the basement
Careful not to spoil her
Calico printed pinafore
Composite traits and mannerists
All others dissipate

Down the way a silk design
This face is mine
Tis I, Ka ~ Natalie Merchant

Courtesy is breeding. Breeding is an excellent thing. Always remember that. ~ Lillian Hellman

Whatever else we may say about sex, it is at least as much a social and psychological phenomenon as it is a biological one. ~ Lillian B. Rubin

With Lillian, ironically, the Bowmans had reached their highest pinnacle in having married her to Marcus, Lord Westcliff. No one could have believed that the reserved and powerful earl would have wed a headstrong girl like Lillian. But Westcliff had seen beneath Lillian's brash façade to the vulnerability and fiercely loving heart she tried so hard to concede. ~ Lisa Kleypas

After a day filled with talking, laughing, reminiscing and making future plans, Evie had returned to Eversby Priory in high spirits. She was full of news to share with her husband... including the fact that the protagonist of Daisy's current novel in progress had been partly inspired by him.
"I had the idea when the subject of your husband came up at a dinner party a few months ago, Evie," Daisy had explained, dabbing at a tiny stain left by a strawberry that had fallen onto her bodice. "Someone remarked that Kingston was still the handsomest man in England, and how unfair it was that he never ages. And Lillian said he must be a vampire, and everyone laughed. It started me thinking about that old novel The Vampyre, published about fifty years ago. I decided to write something similar, only a romantic version."
Lillian had shaken her head at the notion. "I told Daisy no one would want to read about a vampire lover. Blood... teeth..." She grimaced and shivered.
"He enslaves women with his charismatic power," Daisy protested. "He's also a rich, handsome duke- just like Evie's husband."
Annabelle spoke then, her blue eyes twinkling. "In light of all that, one could forgive a bad habit or two."
Lillian gave her a skeptical glance. "Annabelle, could you really overlook a husband who went around sucking the life out of people?"
After pondering the question, Annabelle asked Daisy, "How rich is he?" She ducked with a smothered laugh as Lillian pelted her ~ Lisa Kleypas

For men tied fast to the absolute, bled of their differences, drained of their dreams by authoritarian leeches until nothing but pulp is left, become a massive, sick Thing whose sheer weight is used ruthlessly by ambitious men. Here is the real enemy of the people: our own selves dehumanized into the masses. And where is the David who can slay this giant? ~ Lillian Smith

I should force you. You have no legal right to refuse me to your bed."
Suddenly Evie's heart stopped, and she felt herself blanch. But she would not shrink from him. Something inside demanded that she stand up to him in equal. "Go on, then," she challenged coolly. "Force me." She saw the flicker of surprise in his eyes. His throat worked, but he remained silent. And then... she understood. "You can't," she said in wonder. "You would never have raped Lillian. You were only bluffing. You could never force a woman." A faint smile rose to her lips. "She was never in a moment's danger, was she? You're not nearly the villain you pretend to be. ~ Lisa Kleypas

Evolution is a fairy tale for grown-ups. ~ Duane Gish

You said you be here
But where are you know.
I might as well closs my eyes
Because I'm just sick of the lies ~ Lillian Huxely Ward

One left; things shifted in one's absence; one returned to something else. Time frustrated all. There was no sneaking past its rough guard, even to get to one's own yard of intimacies. ~ Gish Jen

You're mine now."

-Marcus to Lillian ~ Lisa Kleypas

It seems impossible to find one man hiding in a city populated by more than a million people."
"Nearly two million," Westcliff said. "However, I have no doubt that he will be found. We have resources and the will to accomplish it."
Despite her concern, Evie could not prevent a smile as she reflected that he sounded very much like Lillian, who never accepted defeat. Seeing that Westcliff's brows had quirked slightly at the sight of her smile, she explained, "I was just thinking what a perfect match you are for a strong-willed woman like Lillian."
The mention of his adored wife brought a glow to the earl's eyes. "I would say she is no more determined or strong-willed than you," he replied, and added with a swift grin, "She merely happens to be noisier about it. ~ Lisa Kleypas

Close your eyes," Marcus said, his hand moving to her bottom in a circling caress. He brushed his mouth over her forehead and her fragile eyelids. "Rest. You'll need to regain your strength ... because once we're married, I won't be able to leave you alone. I'll want to love you every hour, every minute of the day." He nestled her more closely against him. "There is nothing on earth more beautiful to me than your smile ... no sound sweeter than your laughter ... no pleasure greater than holding you in my arms. I realized today that I could never live without you, stubborn little hellion that you are. In this life and the next, you're my only hope of happiness. Tell me, Lillian, dearest love ... how can you have reached so far inside my heart?" He paused to kiss her damp silken skin ... and smiled as the wisp of a feminine snore broke the peaceful silence. ~ Lisa Kleypas

He's t-terrifying," she heard Evie breathe, and Lillian glanced at her with sudden amusement.
"He's just a man, dear. I'm sure he orders his servants to help him put his trousers on one leg at a time, like everyone else."

-Evie & Lillian ~ Lisa Kleypas

For those who have lived on the edge of poverty all their lives, the semblance of poverty affected by the affluent is both incomprehensible and insulting. ~ Lillian B. Rubin

As one grows older, one realizes how little one knows about any relationship, or even about oneself. ~ Lillian Hellman

Without thinking, Lillian let out a few curse words that caused Evie to blanch. One of Lillian's more questionable accomplishments was the ability to swear as fluently as a sailor, acquired from much time spent with her grandmother, who had worked as a washwoman at the harbor docks. ~ Lisa Kleypas

She brought her mouth close to his ear. "My name is Celaena Sardothien," she whispered. "But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me." She smiled at him as she stood. He just stared up at her, his bloody nose leaking down the side of his cheek. She took the handkerchief from her pocket and dropped it on his chest. "You can keep that," she said before she walked off the veranda. ~ Sarah J. Maas

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Lillian, my sweet love ... you're safe now. I'll never let anything happen to you again. I swear it on my life. You're safe. ~ Lisa Kleypas

Of course many of us were loaded with self-hate and wanted to change. How could it have been otherwise? All we heard and read about homosexuality was that crap about how we were inverts, perverts, queers - a menace to children, poison to everybody else, doomed never to be happy. ~ Lillian Faderman

Church is a school for sinners, not a club of saints. ~ Lillian Daniel

She turned the doorknob and pushed - but the door wouldn't budge. 'Lillian? Lillian, don't tell me this door is bolted!'
'That's fine,' I answered in as light a tone as I could manage while frantically unbuttoning Uncle Bufford's
waistcoat. 'I won't tell you, I promise.'
'Don't get smart with me, young lady! Is
this door bolted?'
'You just asked me not to tell you that. So I can't, even though technically it actually might be true.'
'Lillian! ~ Robert Thier

Like never before the trajectories of wealth, business, and poverty can be altered in unexpected ways by women. The field of dreams is being reconstructed by technology and the knowledge economy so that the gates, ceilings, doors, and portals are wide open for all who want to play. ~ Lillian Gregory

They miss Rachel and Lillian Rose every minute of every day. It doesn't bring them any comfort to see him standing there and know that their daughter and granddaughter are gone. ~ Joe Flaherty

If I had one wish for my children, it would be that each of them would reach for goals that have meaning for them as individuals. ~ Lillian Gordy Carter

Indignation caused Mercedes to puff out her cheeks temporarily, causing her narrow face to resemble a set of inflated fireplace bellows. "You don't like Mr. Swift any more than I do," she retorted.
"No," Lillian said frankly. "But much as I hate to admit it, that puts us in a minority. Swift is liked by everyone in the northern hemisphere, including Westcliff and his friends, my friends, the servants, the neighbors - "
"You are exaggerating - "
" - children, animals and the higher order of plants," Lillian finished sardonically. "If root vegetables could talk, I've no doubt they would say they like him, too."
Daisy, who was sitting by the window with a book, looked up with a sudden grin. "His charm doesn't extend to poultry," she said. ~ Lisa Kleypas

Callous greed grows pious very fast. ~ Lillian Hellman

What was your greatest challenge? Staying alive as a business, staying ahead of the game, and melding my business life with my personal life. ~ Lillian Vernon

Westcliff sees an odd sort of logic in why you would finally be the one to win St. Vincent's heart. He says a girl like you would appeal to ... hmm, how did he put it? ... I can't remember the exact words, but it was something like ... you would appeal to St. Vincent's deepest, most secret fantasy."
Evie felt her cheeks flushing while a skirmish of pain and hope took place in the tired confines of her chest. She tried to respond sardonically. "I should think his fantasy is to consort with as many women as possible."
A grin crossed Lillian's lips. "Dear, that is not St. Vincent's fantasy, it's his reality. And you're probably the first sweet, decent girl he's ever had anything to do with."
"He spent quite a lot of time with you and Daisy in Hampshire," Evie countered.
That seemed to amuse Lillian further. "I'm not at all sweet, dear. And neither is my sister. Don't say you have been laboring under that misconception all this time? ~ Lisa Kleypas