"In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, 'Is it good, friend?'
'It is bitter -- bitter,' he answered,
'But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart.'"
— Stephen Crane

"A man said to the universe: 'Sir, I exist!'
'However,' replied the universe. 'The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation."
— Stephen Crane

"A MAN FEARED

A man feared that he might find an assassin;
Another that he might find a victim.
One was more wise than the other."
— Stephen Crane

"When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and he hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples. "
— Stephen Crane

""Think as I think," said a man, "or you are abominably wicked; you are a toad." And after I thought of it, I said, "I will, then, be a toad."
"
— Stephen Crane

"Half of tradition is a lie."
— Stephen Crane

"It was not well to drive men into final corners; at those moments they could all develop teeth and claws."
— Stephen Crane (The Red Badge of Courage)

"If I am going to be drowned – if I am going to be drowned – if I am going to be drowned, why in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate land and trees?"
— Stephen Crane (The Open Boat and Other Stories)

"It perhaps might be said--if any one dared--that the most worthless literature of the world has been that which has been written by the men of one nation concerning the men of another."
— Stephen Crane (The Portable Stephen Crane)

"A singular disadvantage of the sea lies in the fact that after successfully surmounting one wave you discover another behind it just as important and just as nervously anxious to do something effective in the way of swamping boats. In a ten-foot dinghy one can get an idea of the resources of the sea in the line of waves that is not probable to the average experience, which is never at sea in a dinghy.""
— Stephen Crane (The Open Boat)

"In the desert I saw a creature, naked, bestial, who, squatting upon the ground Held hid heart in his hands, and ate of it. I said "Is it good friend?" "It is bitter," he answered "but I like it because it is my heart.""
— Stephen Crane

"A man says to the universe:
"Sir, I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
— Stephen Crane (The Complete Poems of Stephen Crane)

"Perhaps an individual must consider his own death to be the final phenomenon of nature."
— Stephen Crane (The Open Boat and Other Stories)

"There were many who went in huddled procession,
They knew not wither,
But, at any rate, success or calamity
Would attend all in equality.

There was one who sought a new road,
He went into direful thickets,
And ultimately he died thus, alone;
But they said he had courage."
— Stephen Crane (Poems of Stephen Crane)

"One viewed the existence of man then as a marvel, and conceded a glamour of wonder to these lice which were caused to cling to a whirling, fire-smote, ice-locked, disease-stricken, space-lost bulb."
— Stephen Crane

"You cannot choose your battlefield, God does that for you; But you can plant a standard where a standard never flew."
— Stephen Crane

"A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.""
— Stephen Crane

"Mother, whose heart hung humble as a button the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind."
— Stephen Crane

"In the desert I saw a creature, naked, bestial, who, squatting upon the ground, held his heart in his hands, and ate of it. I said, "Is it good, friend?" "It is bitter – bitter", he answered, "But I like it because it is bitter, and because it is my heart." "
— Stephen Crane

"They would jeer him, and, if practicable, pelt him with missiles."
— Stephen Crane (The Red Badge of Courage)