"There is certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position, and be bruised in a new place."

Change

Create & Download Quote Graphic

Customize Image

1. Canvas Aspect Ratio

2. Palette Theme

Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Change as articulated by Washington Irving. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Change provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

Explore all Change quotes → Browse all wisdom by Washington Irving →

About Washington Irving

Washington Irving was an American writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820), both of which appear in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of the writer Oliver Goldsmith, Islamic prophet Muhammad, and also first U.S. president George Washington, as well as several histories of 15th-century Spain that deal with topics such as the Alhambra palace, Christopher Columbus European discovery of the Americas, and the Reconquista. Irving served as the American ambassador to Spain in the 1840s.

View all quotes by Washington Irving →
Editorial Integrity: Curated and fact-checked under our Editorial Standards to eliminate misattributions and preserve historical authenticity.
Learn about our methodology →

More by Washington Irving

"A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use."

— Washington Irving
Read more →

"Honest good humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting, and there is no jovial companionship equal to that where the jokes are rather small and laughter abundant."

— Washington Irving
Read more →

"Acting provides the fulfillment of never being fulfilled. You're never as good as you'd like to be. So there's always something to hope for."

— Washington Irving
Read more →

"Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks, shall win my love."

— Washington Irving
Read more →

More about Change

"We're on some path that's set since we're born, but I still believe we can change some things."

— RM (Kim Namjoon)
Read more →

"No art can be noble which is incapable of expressing thought, and no art is capable of expressing thought which does not change."

— John Ruskin
Read more →

"Wife and servant are the same, But only differ in the name: For when that fatal knot is tied, Which nothing, nothing can divide: When she the word obey has said, And man by law supreme has made, Then all that's kind is laid aside, And nothing left but state and pride."

— Lady Mary Chudleigh
Read more →

"The new dynamics between brands and consumers, driven by social media, are proving to be a powerful impetus for change."

— Simon Mainwaring
Read more →
Browse all Change quotes →