“No person seemed inclined to start me on the road to fame, but, as soon as I had made an audacious step or two, I was taken up, passed quickly on from stage to stage, and given free rides farther than I expected.” Reflecting on how initiative unexpectedly opened the way to literary recognition · Autobiography, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp Art Fame Hope
“Whatever the consequence might be, even if this rough life threatened to injure my health permanently, I was firmly resolved to sacrifice the next six months for whatever might follow them.” Showing the determination behind his struggle to establish himself as a writer · Autobiography, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp Art Hope
“It seems strange to say, but the dirtiest looking tramp is often the most honest and respectable, for he has not the courage to beg either food or clothes.” Challenging easy judgements based upon outward appearance · Autobiography, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp Truth
“It is on this rainy day that one sees those little kindnesses which are only seen among the very poor: one who has not sufficient for himself assisting some other who has nothing.” Observing generosity among people who have almost nothing to spare · Autobiography, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp Friendship Hope
“I travelled alone, in spite of the civilities of other tramps, who desired company, so as to allow no strange voice to disturb my dreams.” Presenting solitude as a necessary shelter for imagination · Autobiography, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp Hope Solitude
“When I suffered most from lack of rest, or bodily sustenance—as my actual experience became darker, the thoughts of the future became brighter, as the stars shine to correspond with the night's shade.” Finding hope growing stronger as present circumstances became darker · Autobiography, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp Despair Hope
“I remember those happy days, and often wish I could speak into the ears of the dead the gratitude which was due to them in life, and so ill returned.” A poignant reflection on gratitude that arrives too late · Autobiography, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp Death Love Memory
“People are not to be blamed for their doubts, but that they make no effort to arrive at the truth.” Defending scepticism while insisting upon an honest search for facts · Autobiography, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp Truth
“True, a man's first book of poetry may run into a second edition, but people should not write and congratulate him on his success before they know what that means.” Wryly separating literary recognition from financial success · Prose book, Beggars Fame Poetry
“It is a great pleasure to have a sharp eye and a clear memory for people we have met years ago, if only for a few minutes.” Celebrating the way brief human encounters can remain vivid for years · Prose book, Beggars Friendship Memory
“In fact I have found Fame to be the most amusing companion I have ever had.” Treating literary celebrity with amused detachment rather than reverence · Prose book, Beggars Fame Joy
“I do not care for the look of new books, much preferring them to have lost their last coat of polish.” Showing his affection for well-used books and the physical traces of age · Prose book, Beggars Reading Time
“I want to see the books around me as my own property, else the sight of them grieves me.” Expressing the comfort he found in living among books of his own · Prose book, Beggars Reading Solitude
“Such books are never any good to me, for, if I enjoy them, I am robbed of that joy by the thought that they are not mine.” Capturing his intensely personal attachment to books · Prose book, Beggars Joy Reading
“I cannot now read with enjoyment books that are borrowed or are likely to be wanted back.” A book lover's humorous confession about the pleasures of possession · Prose book, Beggars Joy Reading
“What I like so much about meeting these strange people on the Open Road, is their plain and simple characters, which can be known, as a rule, in a few short hours.” Valuing the openness and immediacy he found among fellow travellers · Autobiography, Later Days Friendship Solitude Truth
“If I am not immortal as a poet, I shall be immortal as the greatest literary fraud of the twentieth century.” A characteristically self-mocking joke about literary immortality · Autobiography, Later Days Fame Mortality Poetry
“I would rather write another merry song than waste my time and temper on critics.” Choosing creative pleasure over arguments about reputation · Autobiography, Later Days Fame Joy Poetry
“They make literature a mask to hide their real personality, and how can they expect to attain that strength which only comes through honesty and sincerity?” Arguing that lasting literary strength depends upon personal honesty · Autobiography, Later Days Art Poetry Truth
“I do not bother my head much, or lecture the public on ‘The Great Mission of Poets’; and do not care whether I am called a poet or a rhymer.” Rejecting grand theories of poetry in favour of simply making the work · Autobiography, Later Days Art Fame Poetry
“I go to Life and Nature for my own ideas, and have no need of books.” Expressing his conviction that direct experience and nature are the richest sources of inspiration · Autobiography, Later Days Art Nature Truth
“What surprises me as much as anything else in life is that the more we read books and talk, the farther we get away from the truth.” A provocative defence of experience over second-hand knowledge · Autobiography, Later Days Life Reading Truth
“Let us not judge life by its number of breaths, but by the number of times that breath is held, or lost, either under a deep emotion caused by love, or when we stand before an object of interest or beauty.” Measuring a life by moments of wonder and deep feeling rather than mere duration · Autobiography, Later Days Beauty Life Love
“There is no question but that the American beggar is the finest in his country.” The dry, connoisseur's tone Davies brought to his years observing life on the road · Beggars (1909, memoir) Society
