“Glories, like glow-worms, afar off shine bright,
But look'd too near have neither heat nor light.”

— John Webster , The White Devil

Act IV, scene 4. Compare Distance.
The White Devil (1612)

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John Webster 17

English dramatist 1578–1634

John Webster (1578–1634) English dramatist

Act IV, scene ii.
Duchess of Malfi (1623)

“Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer.
Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer.
Lead us lest too far we wander.
Love's sweet voice is calling yonder.”

Johnny Mercer (1909–1976) American lyricist, songwriter, singer and music professional

Song The Glow-Worm

“Surely happiness is reflective, like the light of heaven; and every countenance, bright with smiles, and glowing with innocent enjoyment, is a mirror transmitting to others the rays of a supreme and ever-shining benevolence.”

Washington Irving (1783–1859) writer, historian and diplomat from the United States

Source: Old Christmas: From the Sketch Book of Washington Irving

“As in hoary winter's night stood shivering in the snow,
Surprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow;
And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near,
A pretty babe all burning bright did in the air appear.”

Robert Southwell (1561–1595) English Jesuit

"The Burning Babe", line 1; p. 98.

“She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone round her; in the brightness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild and loving in her appearance. "Grandmother," cried the little one, "O take me with you; I know you will go away when the match burns out; you will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious Christmas-tree." And she made haste to light the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother there. And the matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noon-day, and her grandmother had never appeared so large or so beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God.”

Hans Christian Andersen book The Little Match Girl

The Little Match Girl
Fairy Tales (1835)

“We are all worms. But I do believe I am a glow-worm.”

Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

As quoted by Violet Bonham-Carter in Winston Churchill as I Knew Him (1965), according to The Yale Book of Quotations (2006), Fred R. Shapiro, Yale University Press, p. 155 ISBN 0300107986
Post-war years (1945–1955)
Source: Never Give In!: The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches

“Lord of all being, thronèd afar,
Thy glory flames from sun and star;
Center and soul of every sphere,
Yet to each loving heart how near!”

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894) Poet, essayist, physician

"Lord Of All Being" (1848).
Context: Lord of all being, thronèd afar,
Thy glory flames from sun and star;
Center and soul of every sphere,
Yet to each loving heart how near!
Sun of our life, Thy quickening ray,
Sheds on our path the glow of day;
Star of our hope, Thy softened light
Cheers the long watches of the night.

“We like to admit to only that which already glows, although it is nobler to support brightness before it glows, not afterwards.”

Dejan Stojanovic (1959) poet, writer, and businessman

“A Flash of Silence,” p. 109
The Sun Watches the Sun (1999), Sequence: “Is It Possible to Write a Poem”

“Death's dry bones glowed with light in the erotic dark
but he woke not nor felt the two warm bodies merge;
the male worm then took heart and in his wife's ear whispered:
"With one sweet kiss, dear wife, we've conquered conquering Death!"”

Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957) Greek writer

Orpheus' song, Book III, line 178
The Odyssey : A Modern Sequel (1938)

“Her eyes the glow-worm lend thee,
The shooting stars attend thee;
And the elves also,
Whose little eyes glow
Like the sparks of fire, befriend thee.”

Robert Herrick book Hesperides

"The Night Piece to Julia".
Hesperides (1648)

“Glories, like glow-worms, afar off shine bright,
But look'd too near have neither heat nor light.”

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John Webster 17

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“Glories, like glow-worms, afar off shine bright,But look'd too near have neither heat nor light.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

John Webster 17

Related quotes

Related topics

“Glories, like glow-worms, afar off shine bright,
But look'd too near have neither heat nor light.”