And suddenly I rejoiced in the great security of the sea as compared with the unrest of the land, in my choice of that untempted life presenting no disquieting problems, invested with an elementary moral beauty by the absolute straightforwardness of its appeal and by the singleness of its purpose.

— Joseph Conrad

And this also," said Marlow suddenly, "has been one of the dark places of the earth.

— Joseph Conrad

And yet I have known the sea too long to believe in its respect for decency. An elemental force is ruthlessly frank

— Joseph Conrad

And yet is not mankind itself, pushing on its blind way, driven by a dream of its greatness and its power upon the dark paths of excessive cruelty and of excessive devotion. And what is the pursuit of truth, after all?

— Joseph Conrad

Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. Oh, I wasn't touched. I was fascinated. It was as though a veil had been rent. I saw on that ivory face the expression of somber pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror--of an intense and hopeless despair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision--he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath:The horror! The horror!

— Joseph Conrad

Any work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line.

— Joseph Conrad

Aren't our lives too short for that full utterance which through all our stammering is of course our only and abiding intention?

— Joseph Conrad

As a general rule, a reputation is built on manner as much as on achievement.

— Joseph Conrad

As in political so in literary action a man wins friends for himself mostly by the passion of his prejudices.

— Joseph Conrad

As to honor - you know - it's a very fine medieval inheritance which women never got hold of. It wasn't theirs.

— Joseph Conrad