Muriel Spark Quotes

A collection of quotes by Muriel Spark.

Muriel Spark (1918-2006) was a Scottish novelist, known for her critically acclaimed works that often combined wit, satire, and psychological depth. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, she began writing poetry and stories at a young age and eventually pursued a career in writing.

Spark gained international recognition with her debut novel, "The Comforters" (1957), which explored themes of identity and reality. This was followed by several successful novels, including "Memento Mori" (1959), "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1961), and "The Girls of Slender Means" (1963), which further established her reputation as a talented and innovative writer.

Her novels often focused on exploring the complexities of human relationships and the influence of social class on personal identity. Spark's unique writing style, characterized by its precise prose and dark humor, earned her a loyal readership and numerous literary accolades.

In addition to her novels, Muriel Spark also wrote plays, poetry, and biographies throughout her prolific writing career. She continued to produce highly regarded works well into her later years and even taught writing at universities in the United States.

Muriel Spark's contributions to the literary world were widely recognized, and she received many awards, including the David Cohen Prize for Literature and the Golden PEN Award. Her writing continues to be celebrated for its sharp insight, originality, and lasting impact on contemporary literature.

It is impossible to persuade a man who does not disagree, bu

It is impossible to persuade a man who does not disagree, but smiles.

Muriel Spark


To me education is a leading out of what is already there in

To me education is a leading out of what is already there in the pupil's soul. To Miss Mackay it is a putting in of something that is not there, and that is not what I call education. I call it intrusion.

Muriel Spark


Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of

Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur.

Muriel Spark

Life Time Thetimes

Art and religion first; then philosophy; lastly science. Tha

Art and religion first; then philosophy; lastly science. That is the order of the great subjects of life, that's their order of importance.

Muriel Spark

Life Art Religion Science Philosophy Order

If you're going to do a thing, you should do it thoroughly.

If you're going to do a thing, you should do it thoroughly. If you're going to be a Christian, you may as well be a Catholic.

Muriel Spark

Religion

Parents learn a lot from their children about coping with li

Parents learn a lot from their children about coping with life.

Muriel Spark

Parenting

One's prime is elusive. You little girls, when you grow up,

One's prime is elusive. You little girls, when you grow up, must be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur. You must then live it to the full.

Muriel Spark

Potential

One should only see a psychiatrist out of boredom.

One should only see a psychiatrist out of boredom.

Muriel Spark

Psychiatry

I wouldn't take the Pope too seriously. He's a Pole first, a

I wouldn't take the Pope too seriously. He's a Pole first, a pope second, and maybe a Christian third.

Muriel Spark

Religion

If I had my life over again I should form the habit of night

If I had my life over again I should form the habit of nightly composing myself to thoughts of death. I would practice, as it were, the remembrance of death. There is no other practice which so intensifies life. Death, when it approaches, ought not to take one by surprise. It should be part of the full expectancy of life. Without an ever-present sense of death life is insipid. You might as well live on the whites of eggs.

Muriel Spark

Death

When a noble life has prepared old age, it is not decline th

When a noble life has prepared old age, it is not decline that it reveals, but the first days of immortality.

Muriel Spark

Age