Arthur Miller

Film & Theater USA 1915 – 2005 100 quotes

Author of Death of a Salesman, Miller's works offered profound, quotable insights into the American Dream and moral dilemmas.

Quotes by Arthur Miller

The law is meant to be my servant and not my master.

The Crucible (play) 1953

One can't be of an enquiring and experimental nature, and not be a failure, I think.

Incident at Vichy (play) 1965

The price of clinging to the past is the forfeiture of the future.

Incident at Vichy (play) 1965

I never have to write a play, I never have to do anything.

Interview 1985

Death is not the end; it's the beginning of a new life.

Personal reflection (approximate) 2002

A man is not a bird, to fly away whenever he loses his temper or appetite.

The Crucible (play) 1953

The play is the thing that allows us to confront our own illusions.

Speech 1975

I don't write plays to say 'Look at me, I'm clever.'

Interview 1995

McCarthyism was the worst time in American history.

Speech 1980

The family is the test of freedom; because the family is the only thing that the free man makes for himself and by himself.

Essay 1958

To be a playwright is to be a liar.

Interview 1960

I worked in a warehouse, and I was a shipping clerk.

Autobiography excerpt 1990

The past is holy, or it tries to be.

After the Fall (play) 1964

Don't tell me what happened, tell me what you felt.

Interview 1970

The American conscience died with the Kennedys.

Letter 1968

I am a writer, and therefore I am a liar.

Personal reflection 1955

Life is a journey, not a destination.

Speech 1987

The only thing that can save us is the truth.

The Crucible (play) 1953

Humor is the best medicine for the soul.

Interview 1995

In the end, we are all salesmen.

Death of a Salesman (play) 1949