“A great flame follows a little spark.”
Canto I, line 34 (tr. Sinclair).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Paradiso
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Dante Alighieri105
Italian poet 1265–1321Related quotes
“I feel the Sparks of my old Flame revive.”
John Ogilby (1600–1676) Scottish academic
The Works of Publius Virgilius Maro (2nd ed. 1654), Virgil's Æneis
“Vital spark of heav'nly flame!
Quit, oh quit, this mortal frame”
Alexander Pope (1688–1744) eighteenth century English poet
Stanza 1.
The Dying Christian to His Soul (1712)
Context: Vital spark of heav'nly flame!
Quit, oh quit, this mortal frame:
Trembling, hoping, ling'ring, flying,
Oh the pain, the bliss of dying!
Boris Yeltsin (1931–2007) 1st President of Russia and Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR
Statement to a TImes reporter in 1990, as quoted in "The wit and wisdom of Boris" in Guardian Unlimited (23 April 2007)
1990s
Alexander Pope (1688–1744) eighteenth century English poet
Stanza 1
Source: The Dying Christian to His Soul (1712)
“a small spark can start a great fire”
Emmet Fox (1886–1951) American New Thought writer