Quotes by Abraham Cahan

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

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

“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.”

“The dearest days in one's life are those that seem very far and very near at once.”

“Life is much shorter than I imagined it to be.”

“Be modest, humble, simple. Control your anger.”

“I was a great dreamer of day dreams.”

“Unity is a mighty weapon in the struggle for existence, I said, and socialism will use unity as a weapon in mankind's struggle with nature to survive.”

“I often argued that the revolution would not be made in America by our immigrants. There were personal reasons for this. Newcomers are anxious to become Americanized and to participate in American ...”

“In Russia, the sword rules; here in America the dollar rules. It may seem that the dollar has no edge but in fact it is sharper than the sword.”

“Gradually I arrived at the conclusion that the power of realistic art arises from the pleasure we derive from recognizing the truth as it is mirrored by art. The painting, the sculpture, or the wor...”

“Now, it is easy for me to separate the passages that were written from the heart, with conviction, from those which were written as propaganda, from a sense of duty. We used propaganda for an hones...”

“Am I happy? There are moments when I am overwhelmed by a sense of my success and ease. I become aware that thousands of things which had formerly been forbidden fruit to me are at my command now. I...”

“Sometimes when I am alone in my beautiful apartments, brooding over these things and nursing my loneliness, I say to myself: There are cases when success is a tragedy. There are moments when I regr...”

“Your worst pessimist is, after all, an optimist with regard to himself.”

“If you feel that you are good, don't be too proud of it.”

“What is wealth? A dream of fools.”

“The orthodox Jewish faith practically excludes woman from religious life.”

“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 ...”

“Brilliant, mercurial and cranky, Cahan was a major figure in the newspaper and literary worlds, and a force in the labor movement. His autobiography, the Education of Abraham Cahan (Jewish Publicat...”