The worst sin—perhaps the only sin—passion can commit, is to be joyless.

—Dorothy L. Sayers

About Dorothy L. Sayers

Portrait of Dorothy L. Sayers

Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( SAIRZ; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic.

More quotations from Dorothy L. Sayers

Books… are like lobster shells, we surround ourselves with 'em, then we grow out of 'em and leave 'em behind, as evidence of our earlier stages of development.

—Dorothy L. Sayers

We may argue eloquently that "honesty is the best policy." Unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously ceases to be honesty.

—Dorothy L. Sayers

Never think that wars are irrational catastrophes: they happen when wrong ways of thinking and living bring about intolerable situations.… The root causes of conflict are usually to be found in some wrong way of life in which all parties have acquiesced, and for which everybody must, to some extent, bear the blame.

—Dorothy L. Sayers

Every time a man expects, as he says, his money to work for him, he is expecting other people to work for him.

—Dorothy L. Sayers

expectations labor money economics banking

A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought.

—Dorothy L. Sayers

thought quotation originality

More quotations tagged with “passion”

Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.

—Denis Diderot

Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot.

—D. H. Lawrence

He only employs his passion who can make no use of his reason.

My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose.

Give me that man that is not passion's slave, and I will wear him in my hearts core.

—William Shakespeare

passion men and women

History

11 Jul 2015 Added
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

The worst sin - perhaps the only sin - passion can commit, is to be joyless.