John Steinbeck

This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. read more

This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.

I find it valid to understand man as an animal before I am prepared to know him as a man.

I find it valid to understand man as an animal before I am prepared to know him as a man.

A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.

A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.

The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid and stable business.

The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid and stable business.

Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of read more

Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of a man. Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything. The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of a man.