10 Charles Dickens Quotes to Make You Look Wise

June 16, 2021

One of the most prolific writers during the Victorian Era, Charles Dickens wrote 15 books and several dozens of essays, novellas, and short stories. He is also one of the most often quoted of the classic authors, with many of his lines having made it into modern conversation!

Have you ever used the term, “Bah, humbug”? Well, you probably know this line came from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, whether you read the actual book or only watched one of the many film and cartoon adaptations.

Best Charles Dickens Quotes to Mull Over

Whether you read Charles Dickens books or not, many of his quotes are very insightful on their own. Check out the following list and chew on these thoughts; who knows when they might come in handy in your conversations or writing?

Trifles make the sum of life.

If you’ve read David Copperfield, you will likely recognize the understatement of this line, because the protagonist actually endured tragedy after tragedy throughout his young life. But this quote does hold a grain of truth: that all of life is actually just made up of little things comprising a whole!

One always begins to forgive a place as soon as it’s left behind.

I don’t know about you, but I always seem to associate Charles Dickens with heart-wrenching tales of immense sorrow. But with this quote from Little Dorit, we also understand that one of the key themes he loves developing is that of forgiveness.

From the death of each day’s hope another hope sprung up to live to-morrow.

This short line from The Old Curiosity Shop is full of wisdom, reminding us that even if some of our hopes die, we always have something else to turn to.

“Never,” said my aunt, “be mean in anything; never be false; never be cruel. Avoid those three vices, Trot, and I can always be hopeful of you.”

If you were to have only one motto in life, this line from David Copperfield may be a good one to choose, as it sums up the Golden Rule perfectly, don’t you think? It can help guide your daily decisions and the way you treat other people, giving you a standard to live by.

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”

I’m personally awed by the wisdom that Charles Dickens is able to squeeze into a few well-chosen words, which are featured in David Copperfield.

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!”

Ebenezer Scrooge is perhaps one of the most famous Dickens characters, owing to the many film adaptations of A Christmas Carol, including the cartoon ones that portray his selfishness and change of heart at meeting the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future.

This passage perfectly sums up the transformation that took place in this person whose name has become synonymous with greed and being a miser!

“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape.”

Considering all the hardships Pip endured in Great Expectations, this passage is brimming with hope. Dickens seems to be fond of painting the most dreary circumstances for his characters, but the theme of hope continues to shine through, teaching us that even as we undergo our own trials in life, we can always learn from them and become better people.

“But injustice breeds injustice; the fighting with shadows and being defeated by them necessitates the setting up of substances to combat.”

In a world where we face suffering and injustice, this is a timely reminder from Bleak House that “two wrongs do not make a right.” Instead, Dickens encourages us to find the better way of making a difference in our world, by not succumbing to the same spirit of injustice.

“There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.”

Not only is Dickens fond of making deep statements, some of them also reek of sarcasm but still contain important truths. With this line from Oliver Twist, doesn’t he challenge authors to make sure this doesn’t apply to the books we write?

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity…”

Last but not the least, here is one of the most famous opening lines in all of classic literature, from A Tale of Two Cities. The passage is the perfect description of the time period the book is set in, with radical opposites found in the United Kingdom and France.

In another sense, it also pits hatred against love, evil against good, and folly against wisdom, as well as the class war between the rich and the poor.

The Best of Charles Dickens

As you can see from the examples above, Charles Dickens is the source of many nuggets of wisdom, and quoting him is a great way of adding depth and meat to your writing.

Of course, I would encourage you to get the chance to dive into his books, so you can see the greater context in which the quotes are written. As you do so, you’ll find more meaning in these carefully-crafted words that stand the test of time immemorial.

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