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O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

O. Henry

She plucked from my lapel the invisible strand of lint (the universal act of woman to proclaim ownership).
O. HENRY

Invisible Strand Woman
East is East, and West is San Francisco, according to Californians. Californians are a race of people; they are not merely inhabitants of a State.
O. HENRY

Ethnicity Identity Race State
She had become so thoroughly annealed into his life that she was like the air he breathed–necessary but scarcely noticed.
O. HENRY

Air Breathe Life Necessary Notice Scarce
Humans were denied the speech of animals. The only common ground of communication upon which dogs and men can get together is in fiction.
O. HENRY

Animal Communication Human Talk Together
Write what you like; there is no other rule.
O. HENRY

Rule Writing Yourself
It gives men courage and ambition and the nerve for anything. It has the colour of gold, is clear as a glass and shines after dark as if the sunshine were still in it.
O. HENRY

Ambition Color Courage Darkness Man Sunshine
Young artists must pave their way to Art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pave their way to Literature.
O. HENRY

Artist Author Drawing Literature Young
Each of us, when our day’s work is done, must seek our ideal, whether it be love or pinochle or lobster à la Newburg, or the sweet silence of the musty bookshelves.
O. HENRY

Book Day Ideal Seek Silence Work
Now, girls, if you want to observe a young man hustle out after a pick and shovel, just tell him that your heart is in some other fellow’s grave. Young men are grave-robbers by nature.
O. HENRY

Grave Heart Nature Observation Young Yourself
It was beautiful and simple, as truly great swindles are.
O. HENRY

Beautiful Greatness Simplicity True
Whenever my patient begins to count the carriages in her funeral procession I subtract 50 per cent from the curative power of medicines.
O. HENRY

Beginning Count Funeral Medicine Myself Patience Power
There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl.
O. HENRY

Clear Couch
The true adventurer goes forth aimless and uncalculating to meet and greet unknown fate.
O. HENRY

Adventure Calculate Fate Greatness True
History is bright and fiction dull with homely men who have charmed women.
O. HENRY

Bright Charm History Home Man Women
If you live in an atmosphere of luxury, luxury is yours whether your money pays for it, or another’s.
O. HENRY

Atmosphere Live Money Pay Yourself
Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.
O. HENRY

Dominate Life Smile
If man knew how women pass the time when they are alone, they’d never marry.
O. HENRY

Man Marriage Pass Time Woman
A story with a moral appended is like the bill of a mosquito. It bores you, and then injects a stinging drop to irritate your conscience.
O. HENRY

Boredom Conscience Irritate Morals
It’s said that love makes the world go around. Let me tell you, the announcement lacks verification. It’s the wind from the dinner horn that does it.
O. HENRY

Horn Love Myself Verify Wind World
We can’t buy one minute of time with cash; if we could, rich people would live longer.
O. HENRY

Cash Live People Time
A burglar who respects his art always takes his time before taking anything else.
O. HENRY

Art Himself Respect Time
It ain’t the roads we take; it’s what’s inside of us that makes us turn out the way we do.
O. HENRY

Ourselves Road Travel Way
I’ll give you the whole secret to short story writing. Here it is. Rule 1: Write stories that please yourself. There is no Rule 2.
O. HENRY

Myself Secret Story Writing
Women’s weapon, water-drops.
O. HENRY

Tears Weapon Woman
A good story is like a bitter pill, with the sugar coating inside of it.
O. HENRY

Creativity Pill Story
We may achieve climate, but weather is thrust upon us.
O. HENRY

Achieve Climate Ourselves
Those whom we first love we seldom marry.
O. HENRY

Love Marriage

O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

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O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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