15 Great F. Scott Fitzgerald Quotes

Though he was just 44 when he died, F. Scott Fitzgerald left us with a wealth of wisdom and no shortage of quips. Here are 15 of our favorites.

1. On exclamation points

"Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke."

2. On writing

"You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you’ve got something to say."

3. On what makes a good story

"What people are ashamed of usually makes a good story."

4. On happiness

"I never believe much in happiness. I never believe in misery either. Those are things you see on the stage or the screen or the printed pages, they never really happen to you in life."

5. On business

"No grand idea was ever born in a conference, but a lot of foolish ideas have died there."

6. On empathy

"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in the world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had."

7. On innocence

"I don’t want to repeat my innocence. I want the pleasure of losing it again."

8. On jealousy

"Nothing is as obnoxious as other people’s luck."

9. On change

"I’ll be different, but somewhere lost inside me there’ll always be the person I am tonight."

10. On literature

"That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong."

11. On youth

"Youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness."

12. On alcohol

"Here’s to alcohol, the rose-colored glasses of life."

13. On overindulgence

"Too much of anything is bad, but too much champagne is just right."

14. On perseverance

"Nothing any good isn’t hard."

15. On love

"I love her, and that is the beginning and end of everything."