James Russell Lowell

"Better to me the poor mans crust, Better the blessing of the poor, Though I turn me empty from his door; That is no true alms which the hand can hold; He gives nothing but worthless gold Who gives from a sense of duty; But he who gives a slender mite, And gives to that which is out of sight, That thread of the all-sustaining Beauty Which runs through all and doth all unite, - The hand cannot clasp the whole of his alms, The heart outstretches its eager palms, For a god goes with it and makes it store To the soul that was starving in darkness before."

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Source: James Russell Lowell, “The Vision Of Sir Launfal”

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James Russell Lowell

James Russell Lowell

Poet, Essayist

James Russell Lowell was an American poet and essayist known for his advocacy of social reform and his influential work, 'The Biglow Papers.'

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James Russell Lowell Poet, Essayist

"What visionary tints the year puts on, When falling leaves falter through motionless air Or numbly cling and shiver to be gone! How shimmer the low flats and pastures bare, As with her nectar Hebe Autumn fills The bowl between me and those distant hills, And smiles and shakes abroad her misty, tremulous hair!"

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