Quote collection
685 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"The sentence of the first murderer was pronounced by the Supreme Judge of the universe. Was it death? No, it was life. 'A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth'; and 'Whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold."
"Take this sorrow to thy heart and make it part of thee, and it shall nourish thee till thou art strong again."
"Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each tomorrow Find us farther than today."
"Round about what is, lies a whole mysterious world of might be, a psychological romance of possibilities and things that do not happen."
"Torrent of light and river of air, Along whose bed the glimmering stars are seen, Like gold and silver sands in some ravine Where mountain streams have left their channels bare!"
"A handful of red sand from the hot clime Of Arab deserts brought, Within this glass becomes the spy of Time, The minister of Thought."
"O suffering, sad humanity! O ye afflicted ones, who lie Steeped to the lips in misery, Longing, yet afraid to die, Patient, though sorely tried!"
"Do not delay, Do not delay: the golden moments fly!"
"If you once understand an author's character, the comprehension of his writings becomes easy."
"To-day, to-morrow, every day, to thousands the end of the world is close at hand. And why should we fear it? We walk here, as it were, in the crypts of life; at times, from the great cathedral above us, we can hear the organ and the chanting choir; we see the light stream through the open door, when some friend goes up before us; and shall we fear to mount the narrow staircase of the grave that leads us out of this uncertain twilight into life eternal?"
"What child has a heart to sing in this capricious clime of ours, when spring comes sailing in from the sea, with wet and heavy cloud-sails and the misty pennon of the east-wind nailed to the mast."
"And as she looked around, she saw how Death the consoler, Laying his hand upon many a heart, had healed it forever."
"Look upon the errors of others in sorrow, not in anger."
"I do not love thee less for what is done, And cannot be undone. Thy very weakness Hath brought thee nearer to me, and henceforth My love will have a sense of pity in it, Making it less a worship than before."
"For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
"O little feet! that such long years Must wander on through hopes and fears, Must ache and bleed beneath your load; I, nearer to the wayside inn Where toil shall cease and rest begin, Am weary, thinking of your road!"
"There rises the moon, broad and tranquil, through the branches of a walnut tree on a hill opposite. I apostrophize it in the words of Faust; "O gentle moon, that lookest for the last time upon my agonies!" --or something to that effect."
"In the mouths of many men soft words are like roses that soldiers put into the muzzles of their muskets on holidays."
"Every author has the whole past to contend with; all the centuries are upon him. He is compared with Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Milton."
"What seems to us but dim funeral tapers may be heaven's distant lamps."