Henry Longfellow citations

Page 2

“There is a Reaper, whose name is Death,
And, with his sickle keen,
He reaps the bearded grain at a breath,
And the flowers that grow between.”

“A torn jacket is soon mended; but hard words bruise the heart of a child.”

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.”

“The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.”

“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.”

“Art is the child of Nature; yes,
Her darling child, in whom we trace
The features of the mother's face,
Her aspect and her attitude,
All her majestic loveliness
Chastened and softened and subdued
Into a more attractive grace,
And with a human sense imbued.
He is the greatest artist, then,
Whether of pencil or of pen,
Who follows Nature.”

“In character, in manner, in style, in all the things, the supreme excellence is simplicity”

“The heart, like the mind, has a memory.
And in it are kept the most precious keepsakes.”

“Look not mournfully into the Past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the Present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy Future, without fear, and with a manly heart.”

“And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.”

“It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong.”

“Talk not of wasted affection, affection never was wasted;
If it enrich not the heart of another, its waters, returning
Back to their springs, like the rain, shall fill them full of refreshment;
That which the fountain sends forth returns again to the fountain.”

“If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it;
Every arrow that flies feels the attraction of earth.”

“Sunday is the golden clasp that binds together the volume of the week.”

“There are things of which I may not speak;
There are dreams that cannot die;
There are thoughts that make the strong heart weak,
And bring a pallor into the cheek,
And a mist before the eye.”

“Perserverence is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.”

“As unto the bow the cord is,
So unto the man is woman;
Though she bends him, she obeys him,
Though she draws him, yet she follows,
Useless each without the other!”

“Ah, nothing is too late
Till the tired heart shall cease to palpitate.”

“Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions.”

“Ah, how good it feels! The hand of an old friend.”

“There are moments in life, when the heart is so full of emotion
that if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble
Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret,
Spilled on the ground like water, can never be gathered together.”

“There is no grief like the grief that does not speak.”

“Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves
that break upon the idle seashore of the mind.”

“For age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself, though in another dress,
And as the evening twilight fades away
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.”

“Love gives itself; it is not bought.”

“Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing,
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness;
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another,
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.”

“Let us, then, be up and doing.
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.”

“Resolve, and thou art free.”