Edward Carpenter Quotes & Sayings

Homosexual,' generally used in scientific works is of course a bastard word. 'Homogenic' has been suggested, as being from two roots, both Greek, i.e., 'homos,' same, and 'genos,' sex. — Edward Carpenter

It would seem probable that the attachment of such a one is of a tender and profound character; indeed, it is possible that in this class of men we have the love sentiment in one of its most perfect forms - a form in which from the necessities of the situation the sensuous element, though present, is exquisitely subordinated to the spiritual. — Edward Carpenter

Early in 1888 one or two of us got together to establish our own Sheffield Socialist Society. — Edward Carpenter

Great success in examinations does naturally not as a rule go with originality of thought. — Edward Carpenter

Motherhood is, after all, woman's great and incomparable work. — Edward Carpenter

To some perhaps it may appear a little strained to place this last-mentioned form of attachment on a level of importance with the others, and such persons may be inclined to deny to the homogenic [ ... ] or homosexual love that intense, that penetrating, and at times overmastering character which would entitle it to rank as a great human passion. But in truth this view, when entertained, arises from a want of acquaintance with the actual facts. — Edward Carpenter

In its various forms, so far as we know them, Love seems always to have a deep significance and a most practical importance to us little mortals. In one form, as the mere semi-conscious Sex-love, which runs through creation and is common to the lowest animals and plants, it appears as a kind of organic basis for the unity of all creatures; in another, as the love of the mother for her offspring - which may also be termed a passion - it seems to pledge itself to the care and guardianship of the future race; in another, as the marriage of man and woman, it becomes the very foundation of human society. And so we can hardly believe that in its homogenic form, with which we are here concerned, it has not also a deep significance, and social uses and functions which will become clearer to us, the more we study it. — Edward Carpenter

IN April 1882 my father died; and I was at once whirled out of my land of dreams into a very different sphere. — Edward Carpenter

I might have simply settled down into an armchair literary life. I really don't know exactly why I didn't. — Edward Carpenter

Anyone who realises what Love is, the dedication of the heart, so profound, so absorbing, so mysterious, so imperative, and always just in the noblest natures so strong, cannot fail to see how difficult, how tragic even, must often be the fate of those whose deepest feelings are destined from the earliest days to be a riddle and a stumbling-block, unexplained to themselves, passed over in silence by others. — Edward Carpenter

It is curious that, with my somewhat antinomian tendencies, I should have gone to Trinity Hall - which was, and is, before all a Law College - and should thus have been thrown into close touch with the legal element in life. — Edward Carpenter

Do not think too much of the dead husk of your friend, or mourn too much over it, but send your thoughts out towards the real soul or self which has escaped - to reach it. — Edward Carpenter

But SACRIFICE does not mean 'death' at all. It means MAKING HOLY — Edward Carpenter

In the case of Michel Angelo we have an artist who with brush and chisel portrayed literally thousands of human forms; but with this peculiarity, that while scores and scores of his male figures are obviously suffused and inspired by a romantic sentiment, there is hardly one of his female figures that is so, - the latter being mostly representative of woman in her part as mother, or sufferer, or prophetess or poetess, or in old age, or in any aspect of strength or tenderness, except that which associates itself especially with romantic love. Yet the cleanliness and dignity of Michel Angelo's male figures are incontestable, and bear striking witness to that nobility of the sentiment in him, which we have already seen illustrated in his sonnets. — Edward Carpenter

I should like these few words to be read over the grave when my body is placed in the earth; for though it is possible I may be present and conscious of what is going on, I shall not be able to communicate. — Edward Carpenter

We lived within two hundred yards of the sea, and its voice was in our ears night and day. — Edward Carpenter

Whatever the practical value of the Walden experiment may be, there is no question that the book is one of the most vital and pithy ever written. — Edward Carpenter

The other thing that happened in 1883 was my reading of Thoreau's Walden. — Edward Carpenter

The general fact of surplus value, namely that the workmen does not get the full value of his labours, and that he is taken advantage of by the capitalist, is obvious. — Edward Carpenter

My ideas had been taking a socialistic shape for many years; but they were lacking in definite outline. — Edward Carpenter

Remember, the serpent is still living in the Garden of Eden. Only the heterosexual couple was expelled. — Edward Carpenter

I saw deep in the eyes of the animals, the human soul look out upon me. — Edward Carpenter

Making a choice is like backing a horse - in a hundred years, they may decide you picked wrongly. — Edward Carpenter

That men of this kind despise women, though a not uncommon belief, is one which hardly appears to be justified. Indeed, though naturally not inclined to 'fall in love' in this direction, such men are by their nature drawn rather near to women, and it would seem that they often feel a singular appreciation and understanding of the emotional needs and destinies of the other sex, leading in many cases to a genuine though what is called 'Platonic' friendship. There is little doubt that they are often instinctively sought after by women, who, without suspecting the real cause, are conscious of a sympathetic chord in the homogenic which they miss in the normal man. — Edward Carpenter

Anyhow, with their extraordinary gift for, and experience in, affairs of the heart from the double point of view, both of the man and of the woman it is not difficult to see that these people have a special work to do as reconcilers and interpreters of the two sexes to each other. — Edward Carpenter

Let your mind be quiet, realizing the beauty of the world, and the immense boundless treasures that it holds. — Edward Carpenter

With my somewhat vague aspiring mind, to be imprisoned in the rude details of a most material life was often irksome. — Edward Carpenter

What is the good of life if its chief element, and that which must always be its chief element, is odious? No, the only true economy is to arrange so that your daily labor shall be itself a joy. — Edward Carpenter

When he was twenty-three or twenty-four my father began to learn German and read philosophy in his spare hours, which did not look as though he were destined to remain long on board ship! — Edward Carpenter

For so, surely you will cast a light of gladness upon his onward journey, and contribute your part towards the building of that kingdom of love which links our earth to heaven. — Edward Carpenter

[A]s people are beginning to see that the sexes form in a certain sense a continuous group, so they are beginning to see that Love and Friendship which have been so often set apart from each other as things distinct are in reality closely related and shade imperceptibly into each other. Women are beginning to demand that Marriage shall mean Friendship as well as Passion; that a comrade-like Equality shall be included in the word Love; and it is recognised that from the one extreme of a 'Platonic' friendship (generally between persons of the same sex) up to the other extreme of passionate love (generally between persons of opposite sex) no hard and fast line can at any point be drawn effectively separating the different kinds of attachment. We know, in fact, of Friendships so romantic in sentiment that they verge into love; we know of Loves so intellectual and spiritual that they hardly dwell in the sphere of Passion. — Edward Carpenter

I was in the Square at the time. The crowd was a most good-humoured, easy going, smiling crowd; but presently it was transformed. A regiment of mounted police came cantering up. — Edward Carpenter

Where there had been only jeers or taunts at first, crowds come to listen with serious and sympathetic men. — Edward Carpenter