I read, with a kind of hopeless envy, histories and legends of people of our craft who "do not write for money." It must be a pleasant experience to be able to cultivate so delicate a class of motives for the privilege of doing one's best to express one's thoughts to people who care for them. Personally, I have yet to breathe the ether of such a transcendent sphere. I am proud to say that I have always been a working woman, and always had to be.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps WardOut of my discomforts, which were small enough, grew one thing for which I have all my life been grateful, the formation of fixed habits of work.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps WardA perfect marriage is like a pure heart ... those who have it are fit to see God.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps WardI can remember no time when I did not understand that my mother must write books because people would have and read them; but I cannot remember one hour in which her children needed her and did not find her.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps WardThe distractions, the exhaustions, the savage noises, the demands of town life, are, for me, mortal enemies to thought, to sleep,and to study; its extremes of squalor and of splendor do not stimulate, but sadden me; certain phases of its society I profoundly value, but would sacrifice them to the heaven of country quiet, if I had to choose between.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward