Abraham Cahan > Quotes

“Life is much shorter than I imagined it to be.”
― Abraham Cahan, The Rise of David Levinsky

“Above all, you must fight conceit, envy, and every kind of ill-feeling in your heart.”
― Abraham Cahan

“Remember that it is not enough to abstain from lying by word of mouth; for the worst lies are often conveyed by a false look, smile, or act.”
― Abraham Cahan

“If it be true that our people represent a high percentage of mental vigor, the distinction is probably due, in some measure, to the extremely important part which Talmud studies have played in the spiritual life of the race.”
― Abraham Cahan

“God, for example, appealed to me as a beardless man wearing a quilted silk cap; holiness was something burning, forbidding, something connected with fire while a day had the form of an oblong box.”
― Abraham Cahan

“Only the other world has substance and reality; only good deeds and holy learning have tangible worth.”
― Abraham Cahan

“Their future seemed bright with joy, while his own loomed dark and impenetrable. What if he should now dash into Gitl’s apartments and, declaring his authority as husband, father, and lord of the house, fiercely eject the strangers, take Yoselé in his arms, and sternly command Gitl to mind her household duties? But the distance between him and the mayor’s office was dwindling fast. Each time the car came to a halt he wished the pause could be prolonged indefinitely; and when it resumed its progress, the violent lurch it gave was accompanied by a corresponding sensation in his heart.”
― Abraham Cahan, Yekl and the Imported Bridegroom and Other Stories of Yiddish New York

“I saw that civilization was honeycombed with what Max Nordau called conventional lies, with sham ecstasy, sham sympathy, sham smiles, sham laughter The”
― Abraham Cahan, The Rise of David Levinsky

“Behold! The brook is murmuring and murmuring, but I know not of what. My heart is yearning and yearning, and I know not of what. I cherish the murmur of the brook. I cherish the pang of my lonely heart." The”
― Abraham Cahan, The Rise of David Levinsky

“This is not Europe where one dares not say a word to a strange woman! Nu, sir!”
― Abraham Cahan, Yekl and the Imported Bridegroom and Other Stories of Yiddish New York

“Your worst pessimist is, after all, an optimist with regard to himself.”
― Abraham Cahan, The Rise of David Levinsky