Every quotation a nineteenth-century speaker or writer might want, grouped under its subject, with the author, the date and the source given as exactly as Hoyt could manage.
524 quotations from The Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1896), with the subject each one is filed under.
Justly thou abhorr'st That son, who on the quiet state of men Such trouble brought, affecting to subdue Rational liberty; yet know withal, Since thy original lapse, true liberty Is lost.— filed under Abhorrence
Upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland. Awake, arise, or be forever fall'n!— filed under Action
Those graceful acts, Those thousand decencies that daily flow From all her words and actions.— filed under Action
* * * and now expecting Each hour their great adventurer, from the search Of foreign worlds.— filed under Adversity
Apothegmas o Sentencias, etc. II. 1. 20. The ages roll Forward; and forward with them, draw my soul Into time's infinite sea. And to be glad, or sad, I care no more; But to have done, and to have been, before I cease to do and be. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)-The Wanderer. Bk. IV. A Confession and Apology St. 9. [P.P. '93]. So may'st thou live, till like ripe fruit thou drop Into thy mother's lap, or be with ease Gather'd, not harshly pluck'd, for death mature. S.— filed under Affliction
The man who seeks one thing in life, and but one, May hope to achieve it before life be done; But he who seeks all things, wherever he goes, Only reaps from the hopes which around him he sows A harvest of barren regrets. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. I. Canto II. St. 8. Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.— filed under Ambition
But what will not ambition and revenge Descend to? who aspires must down as low As high he soar'd, obnoxious first or last To basest things.— filed under Ambition
Here may we reign secure, and in my choice To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell.— filed under Ambition
If at great things thou would'st arrive, Get riches first, get wealth, and treasure heap, Not difficult, if thou hearken to me; Riches are mine, fortune is in my hand, They whom I favor thrive in wealth amain, While virtue, valor, wisdom, sit in want.— filed under Ambition
Christabel. As far as angel's ken.— filed under Angels
For God will deign To visit oft the dwellings of just men Delighted, and with frequent intercourse Thither will send his winged messengers On errands of supernal grace.— filed under Angels
How sweetly did they float upon the wings Of silence through the empty-vaulted night, At every fall smoothing the raven down Of darkness till it smiled!— filed under Angels
The helmed Cherubim, And sworded Seraphim, Are seen in glittering ranks with wings display'd. S.— filed under Angels
Elephant. Th' unwieldy elephant, To make them mirth, us'd all his might, and wreathed His lithe proboscis.— filed under Animals-Dog
Lion. They rejoice Each with their kind, lion with lioness, So fitly them in pairs thou hast combined.— filed under Animals-Horse
Elphin. The War-Song of Dinas Vawr. Stag. The swift stag from underground Bore up his branching head. S.— filed under Animals-Swine
Far off his coming shone. C.— filed under Anticipation
Whence and what art thou, execrable shape?— filed under Apparitions
Govern well thy appetite, lest Sin Surprise thee, and her black attendant Death,— filed under Appetite
In argument with men a woman ever Goes by the worse, whatever be her cause.— filed under Argument
Zephyr, with Aurora playing, As he met her once a-Maying.— filed under Authority
The world was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide; They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way.— filed under Banishment
And ladies of the Hesperides, that seemed Fairer than feign'd of old.— filed under Beauty
Beauty is nature's brag, and must be shown In courts, at feasts, and high solemnities, Where most may wonder at the workmanship.— filed under Beauty
Beauty is Nature's coin, must not be hoarded, But must be current, and the good thereof Consists in mutual and partaken bliss.— filed under Beauty
*** for beauty stands In the admiration only of weak minds Led captive. Cease to admire, and all her plumes Fall flat and shrink into a trivial toy, At every sudden slighting quite abash'd.— filed under Beauty
Hung over her enamour'd, and beheld Beauty, which, whether waking or asleep, Shot forth peculiar graces.— filed under Beauty
*** in naked beauty more adorn'd, More lovely than Pandora.— filed under Beauty
Yet beauty, tho' injurious, hath strange power, After offence returning, to regain Love once possess'd.— filed under Beauty
A man may be a heretic in the truth; and if he believe things only because his pastor says so, or the assembly so determines, without knowing other reason, though his belief be true, yet the very truth he holds becomes his heresy.— filed under Belief
While the cock with lively din Scatters the rear of darkness thin, And to the stack or the barn door Stoutly struts his dames before.— filed under Birds-Canary
The bird of Jove, stoop'd from his aery tour, Two birds of gayest plume before him drove.— filed under Birds-Dove
And now the herald lark Left his ground-nest, high tow'ring to descry The morn's approach, and greet her with h song.— filed under Birds-Lark
J. 279 To hear the lark begin his flight, And singing startle the dull Night, From his watch-tower in the skies, Till the dappled dawn doth rise.— filed under Birds-Lark
O nightingale, that on yon bloomy spray Warblest at eve, when all the woods are still; Thou with fresh hope the lover's heart dost fill While the jolly hours lead on propitious May.— filed under Birds-Nightingale
Sweet bird that shunn'st the noise of folly, Most musical, most melancholy! Thee, chauntress, oft, the woods among, I woo, to hear thy even-song.— filed under Birds-Nightingale
Thy liquid notes that close the eye of day; First heard before the shallow cuckoo's bill, Portend success in love;— filed under Birds-Nightingale
Ep. LXXVII. The swan, with arched neck Between her white wings mantling proudly, rows Her state with oary feet.— filed under Birds-Swallow
C. Pope's trans. O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon, Irrecoverably dark! total eclipse, Without all hope of day.— filed under Blindness
O loss of sight, of thee I most complain! Blind among enemies, O worse than chains, Dungeon, or beggary, or decrepit age!— filed under Blindness
These eyes, tho' clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot, Nor to their idle orbs doth sight appear Of sun, or moon, or star, throughout the year, Or man, or woman. Yet I argue not Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot Of heart or hope; but still bear up and steer Right onward.— filed under Blindness
But such a sacred and home-felt delight, Such sober certainty of waking bliss, I never heard till now.— filed under Bliss
A good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit imbalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.— filed under Books
As good almost kill a man as kill a good book; who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God's image; but he who destroys a good book kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were, in the eye.— filed under Books
Books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a progeny of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them.— filed under Books
Deep vers'd in books, and shallow in himself.— filed under Books
For books are as meats and viands are; some of good, some of evil substance.— filed under Books
And ever, against eating cares, Lap me in soft Lydian airs.— filed under Care
Next him high arbiter Chance governs all.— filed under Chance
Or that power Which erring men call chance.— filed under Chance
'Tis well to be merry and wise, 'Tis well to be honest and true; 'Tis well to be off with the old love Before you are on with the new. Lines used by MATURIN, as the motto to "Bertram," produced at Drury Lane, 1816. Do not think that years leave us and find us the same! OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. II. Canto II. St. 3. Weary the cloud falleth out of the sky, Dreary the leaf lieth low. All things must come to the earth by and by, Out of which all things grow. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- The Wanderer. Earth's Havings. Bk. III. In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds On half the nations, and with fear of change Perplexes monarchs.— filed under Change
To-morrow to fresh woods, and pastures new.— filed under Change
Chaos, that reigns here In double night of darkness and of shades.— filed under Chaos
Fate shall yield To fickle Chance, and Chaos judge the strife.— filed under Chaos
Where eldest Night And Chaos, ancestors of nature, hold Eternal anarchy, amidst the noise Of endless wars, and by confusion stand.— filed under Chaos
Old Adam the goodliest man of men since born His sons, the fairest of her daughters, Eve.— filed under Character
For contemplatior. he and valor formed, For softness she and sweet attractive grace.— filed under Character
Her virtue and the conscience of her worth, That would be wooed, and not unsought be won.— filed under Character
He that has light within his own clear breast May sit i' the centre, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Benighted walks under the mid-day sun; Himself is his own dungeon.— filed under Character
Ofttimes nothing profits more Than self-esteem, grounded on just and right Well manag'd.— filed under Character
Quips and Cranks and wanton Wiles, Nods and Becks and wreathed Smiles.— filed under Character
Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall.— filed under Character
Unrespited, unpitied, unreprieved.— filed under Character
Yet, where an equal poise of hope and fear Does arbitrate the event, my nature is That I incline to hope rather than fear, And gladly banish squint suspicion.— filed under Character
France. As pure as a pearl, And as perfect: a noble and innocent girl. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. II. Canto VI. St. 16. So dear to Heaven is saintly chastity, That, when a soul is found sincerely so, A thousand liveried angels lacky her, Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt. и.— filed under Chastity
'Tis chastity, my brother, chastity; She that has that is clad in complete steel, And, like a quiver'd nymph with arrows keen, May trace huge forests, and unharbour'd heaths, Infamous hills, and sandy perilous wilds; Where, through the sacred rays of chastity, No savage fierce, bandite, or mountaineer, Will dare to soil her virgin purity.— filed under Chastity
in a Prospect of Flowers. Ay, these young things lie safe in our hearts just so long As their wings are in growing; and when these are strong They break it, and farewell! the bird flies! OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Canto VI. Pt. II. St. 29. As children gath'ring pebbles on the shore.— filed under Childhood
The childhood shows the man, As morning shows the day.— filed under Childhood
S. Hercules. 1. Rather than be less Car'd not to be at all.— filed under Choice
Who would not, finding way, break loose from hell, * * * * * * And boldly venture to whatever place Farthest from pain?— filed under Choice
The Evangelist. Servant of God, well done, well hast thou fought The better fight.— filed under Christian
Ring out, ye crystal spheres! Once bless our human ears, If ye have power to touch our senses so; And let your silver chime Move in melodious time, And let the bass of Heaven's deep organ blow; And with your ninefold harmony Make up full consort to the angelic symphony.— filed under Christmas
This is the month, and this the happy morn, Wherein the Son of Heaven's eternal King, Of wedded maid and virgin mother born, Our great redemption from above did bring, For so the holy sages once did sing, That He our deadly forfeit should release, And with His Father work us a perpetual peace.— filed under Christmas
Towered cities please us then, And the busy hum of men.— filed under Circumstance
Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence.— filed under Cities-Delft
The low'ring element Scowls o'er the darken'd landscape— filed under Clouds
And in the lowest deep a lower deep Still threatening to devour me opens wide; To which the hell I suffer seems a heaven.— filed under Comparisons
What though the field be lost? All is not lost; th' unconquerable will, And study of revenge, immortal hate, And courage never to submit or yield.— filed under Compensation
A compliment is usually accompanied with a bow, as if to beg pardon for paying it. J. C. and A. W.HARE-Guesses at Truth. What honour that, But tedious waste of time, to sit and hear So many hollow compliments and lies.— filed under Compliments
State. Maxim VII. The Good Husband. Though wisdom wake, suspicion sleeps At wisdom's gate, and to simplicity Resigns her charge, while goodness thinks no ill Where no ill seems.— filed under Boiste
Wm. Gifford's trans. He that has light within his own clear breast, May sit i' the centre, and enjoy bright day; But he that hides a dark soul, and foul thoughts, Benighted walks under the mid-day sun; Himself is his own dungeon.— filed under Conscience
Let his tormentor conscience find him out.— filed under Conscience
S. L. 130. Now conscience wakes despair That slumber'd, wakes the bitter memory Of what he was, what is, and what must be Worse; of worse deeds worse sufferings must ensue!— filed under Conscience
O Conscience, into what abyss of fears And horrors hast thou driven me, out of which I find no way, from deep to deeper plunged.— filed under Conscience
But first and chiefest, with thee bring Him that yon soars on golden wing, Guiding the fiery-wheeled throne, The Cherub Contemplation.— filed under Contemplation
In discourse more sweet, (For Eloquence the Soul, Song charms the sense,) Others apart sat on a hill retir'd, In thoughts more elevate, and reasoned high Of Providence, Foreknowledge, Will and Fate, Fixed fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute; And found no end, in wand'ring mazes lost.— filed under Contemplation
He hears On all sides, from innumerable tongues A dismal universal hiss, the sound Of public scorn.— filed under Contempt
Introductory Stanzas. So well to know Her own, that what she wills to do or say Seems wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best.— filed under Content
Orators. With thee conversing I forget all time: All seasons and their change, all please alike.— filed under Conversation
I argue not Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot Of heart or hope; but still bear up and steer Right onward.— filed under Courage
Stand fast *** And all temptation to transgress repel.— filed under Courage
Shepherd, I take thy word, And trust thy honest offer'd courtesy, Which oft is sooner found in lowly sheds With smoky rafters, than in tap'stry halls, And courts of princes.— filed under Courtesy
Commemoration, July 21, 1865. VI. Open, ye heavens, your living doors; let in The great Creator from his work return'd Magnificent, his six days' work, a world!— filed under Alphonso The Wise
Though to recount almighty works What words of tongue or seraph can suffice, Or heart of man suffice to comprehend?— filed under Alphonso The Wise
What cause Moved the Creator in his holy rest Through all eternity so late to build In chaos, and, the work begun, how soon Absolved.— filed under Alphonso The Wise
Andella. Zaccheus, he Did climb the tree, His Lord to see. From the New England Primer. 1814. I saw and heard, for we sometimes, Who dwell this wild, constrained by want, come forth To town or village nigh, nighest is far, Where aught we hear, and curious are to hear, What happens new; fame also finds us out.— filed under Curiosity
Come and trip it as ye go, On the light fantastic toe.— filed under Dancing
Come, knit hands, and beat the ground In a light fantastic round.— filed under Dancing
Dancing in the chequer'd shade.— filed under Dancing
Yet from those flames No light, but rather darkness visible.— filed under Day
C. Hide me from day's garish eye.— filed under Day
And over them triumphant Death his dart Shook, but delay'd to strike, though oft invoked.— filed under Death
Before mine eyes in opposition sits Grim Death, my son and foe.— filed under Death
Behind her Death Close following pace for pace, not mounted yet On his pale horse.— filed under Death
Death Grinned horrible a ghastly smile, to hear His famine should be filled.— filed under Death
Eas'd the putting off These troublesome disguises which we wear.— filed under Death
I fled, and cried out Death; Hell trembled at the hideous name, and sigh'd From all her caves, and back resounded Death.— filed under Death
O fairest flower; no sooner blown but blasted, Soft, silken primrose fading timelessly.— filed under Death
Infant Dying of a Cough. So spake the grisly Terror. S.— filed under Death
That golden key That opes the palace of eternity.— filed under Death
He seemed For dignity compos'd and high exploit: But all was false and hollow. S.— filed under Deceit
Joking decides great things, Stronger and better oft than earnest can.— filed under Decision
We are our own fates. Our own deeds Are our doomsmen. Man's life was made Not for men's creeds, But men's actions. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. II. Canto V. St. 8. I on the other side Us'd no ambition to commend my deeds; The deeds themselves, though mute, spoke loud the doer.— filed under Deeds
Nor think thou with wind Of aery threats to awe whom yet with deeds Thou canst not.— filed under Deeds
See golden days, fruitful of golden deeds, With joy and love triumphing. S.— filed under Deeds
Subjects. Calvinism. How gladly would I meet Mortality my sentence, and be earth Insensible! how glad would lay me down As in my mother's lap!— filed under Despair
So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear, is lost; Farewell remorse: all good to me is lost; Evil, be thou my good.— filed under Despair
Stood up, the strongest and the fiercest spirit fiercer by That fought in heaven, now fiercer by dedespair.— filed under Despair
Thus repuls'd, our final hope Is flat despair.— filed under Despair
Thus with the year Seasons return, but not to me returns even Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn, or morn, summer's rose, Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, face divine; -during dark Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine; But cloud instead, and ever ways Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men knowledge fair of men Cut off, and for the book of knowledge fair blank Presented with a universal Of Nature's works to me expunged and rased, quite shut out. . Bk. III. And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out.— filed under Despair
It is Lucifer, The son of mystery; And since God suffers him to be, He, too, is God's minister, And labors for some good By us not understood. LONGFELLOw-Christus. The Golden Legend. Epilogue. Last stanza. The Devil, my friends, is a woman just now. 'Tis a woman that reigns in Hell. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- News. Black it stood as night, Fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell, And shook a dreadful dart; what seem'd his head The likeness of a kingly crown had on. Satan was now at hand.— filed under Devil, The
From morn To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve, A summer's day; and with the setting sun Dropt from the zenith like a falling star. C.— filed under Devil, The
His form had yet not lost All his original brightness, nor appear'd Less than arch-angel ruined, and th' excess Of glory obscured.— filed under Devil, The
Incens'd with indignation Satan stood Unterrified, and like a comet burn'd, That fires the length of Ophiucus huge In th' arctic sky, and from his horrid hair Shakes pestilence and war.— filed under Devil, The
Satan exalted sat, by merit raised To that bad eminence.— filed under Devil, The
Satan; so call him now, his former name Is heard no more in heaven.— filed under Devil, The
Swinges the scaly horror of his folded tail.— filed under Devil, The
The infernal serpent; he it was whose guile, Stirr'd up with envy and revenge, deceived The mother of mankind.— filed under Devil, The
With grave Aspect he rose, and in his rising seem'd A pillar of state: deep on his front engraven Deliberation sat and public care; And princely counsel in his face yet shone, Majestic though in ruin.— filed under Devil, The
Or stars of morning, dew-drops which the sun Impearls on every leaf and every flower.— filed under Dew
So he with difficulty and labor hard Mov'd on, with difficulty and labor he.— filed under Difficulties
*** With grave Aspect he rose, and in his rising seem'd A pillar of state; deep on his front engraven Deliberation sat, and public care; And princely counsel in his face yet shone Majestic, though in ruin: sage he stood, With Atlantéan shoulders, fit to bear The weight of mightiest monarchies; his look Drew audience and attention still as night Or summer's noontide air.— filed under Disappointment
But O! as to embrace me she inclin'd, I wak'd, she fled, and day brought back my night.— filed under Disappointment
One sip of this Will bathe the drooping spirits in delight, Beyond the bliss of dreams.— filed under Drinking
Then to the spicy nut-brown ale.— filed under Drinking
Europe. General Principles. The things which must be, must be for the best, God helps us do our duty and not shrink, And trust His mercy humbly for the rest. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Imperfection. Zeal and duty are not slow; But on occasion's forelock watchful wait.— filed under Duty
Sweetest Echo, sweetest nymph, that liv'st unseen Within thy airy shell, By slow Meander's margent green, And in the violet-embroidered vale.— filed under Echo
on Education. Lecture I. Enflamed with the study of learning, and the admiration of virtue; stirred up with high hopes of living to be brave men, and worthy patriots, dear to God, and famous to all ages.— filed under Education
*** as that dishonest victory At Chæronea, fatal to liberty, Killed with report that old man eloquent.*— filed under Eloquence
That moly That Hermes once to wise Ulysses gave.— filed under Bias
Who knows not Circe, The daughter of the Sun, whose charmed cup Whoever tasted, lost his upright shape, And downward fell into a groveling swine?— filed under Bias
What boots it at one gate to make defence, And at another to let in the foe?— filed under Enjoyment
For Solomon, he lived at ease, and full Of honour, wealth, high fare, aimed not beyond Higher design than to enjoy his state.— filed under Enjoyment
Though throned in highest bliss Equal to God, and equally enjoying God-like fruition.— filed under Enjoyment
Who can enjoy alone? Or all enjoying what contentment find?— filed under Enjoyment
Among unequals what society Can sort, what harmony, or true delight?— filed under Equality
That golden key, That opes the palace of eternity.— filed under Eternity
ble's Readings from Shakespeare. Just then return'd at shut of evening flowers.— filed under Evening
Now came still evening on; and twilight gray Had in her sober livery all things clad : Silence accompanied; for beast and bird, They to their grassy couch, these to their nests, Were slunk, all but the wakeful nightingale.— filed under Evening
And out of good still to find means of evil. น.— filed under Aristophanes
We gain Justice, judgment, with years, or else years are in vain. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. I. Canto III. St. 16. Experience, next, to thee I owe, Best guide; not following thee, I had remain'd In ignorance; thou open'st wisdom's way, And giv'st access, though secret she retire.— filed under Expression
Those true eyes Too pure and too honest in aught to disguise The sweet soul shining through them. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. II. Canto II. St. 3. And looks commercing with the skies, Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes.— filed under Eyes
Ladies, whose bright eyes Rain influence.— filed under Eyes
Dusk faces with white silken turbans wreath'd.— filed under Face
In her face excuse Came prologue, and apology too prompt.— filed under Face
If this fail, The pillar'd firmament is rottenness And earth's base built on stubble.— filed under Fairies
*** Or fairy elves, Whose midnight revels by a forest side Or fountain, some belated peasant sees, Or dreams he sees, while overhead the Moon Sits arbitress, and nearer to the Earth Wheels her pale course; they, on their mirth and dance Intent, with jocund music charm his ear; At once with joy and fear his heart rebounds.— filed under Fairies
Abraham Lincoln. 1864. O welcome pure-ey'd Faith, white-handed Hope, Thou hovering angel, girt with golden wings!— filed under Faith
That in such righteousness To them by faith imputed they may find Justification towards God, and peace Of conscience.— filed under Faith
Yet I argue not Again Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot Of right or hope; but still bear up and steer Right onward.— filed under Faith
Apothegms, Sentiment, etc. From Hawkins' Collective Edition. For no falsehood can endure. Touch of celestial temper.— filed under Falsehood
Fame, if not double fac'd, is doubled mouth'd, And with contrary blast proclaims most deeds; On both his wings, one black, the other white, Bears greatest names in his wild aery flight.— filed under Fame
Fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil.— filed under Fame
Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise, (That last infirmity of noble mind) To scorn delights, and live laborious days; But the fair guerdon when we hope to find, And think to burst out into sudden blaze, Comes the blind Fury with th' abhorred shears, And slits the thin-spun life.— filed under Fame
Farewell, happy fields, Where joy forever dwells; hail, horrors!— filed under Farewell
First S. Sestiad. L. 167. And sing to those that hold the vital shears; And turn the adamantine spindle round, On which the fate of gods and men is wound.— filed under Fate
Fixed fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute.— filed under Fate
Necessity and chance Approach not me, and what I will is fate.— filed under Fate
Pope's trans. They eat, they drink, and in communion sweet Quaff immortality and joy.— filed under Festivities
So spake the seraph Abdiel, faithful found, Among the faithless faithful only he.— filed under Fire
And throw sweet garland wreaths into her stream, Of pansies, pinks, and gaudy daffodils.— filed under Flirting
And touched by her fair tendance, gladlier grew.— filed under Flirting
*** at shut of evening flowers. C.— filed under Flirting
Flowers of all hue, and without thorn the rose.— filed under Flirting
The bright consummate flower.— filed under Flirting
Bid amaranthus all his beauty shed, And daffodillies fill their cups with tears, To strew the laureate hearse where Lycid lies.— filed under Flirting
Immortal amaranth, a flower which once In Paradise, fast by the Tree of Life, Began to bloom, but soon for Man's offence, To heav'n remov'd, where first it grew, there grows, And flow'rs aloft shading the fount of life.— filed under Flirting
Carnation. Dianthus Caryophyllus. Carnation, purple, azure, or speck'd with gold.— filed under Flowers-Camomile
Regret. The first wan cowslip, wet With tears of the first morn. S. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)-Ode to a Starling. Through tall cowslips nodding near you, Just to touch you as you pass. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)-Song. Thus I set my printless feet O'er the cowslip's velvet head, That bends not as I tread.— filed under Flowers-Clover
I sat me down to watch upon a bank With ivy canopied and interwove With flaunting honeysuckle.— filed under Flowers-Honeysuckle
Iris. Iris. Iris all hues, roses and jessamin.— filed under Flowers-Ivy
D. Direct The clasping ivy where to climb.— filed under Flowers-Ivy
Pansies. The pansy freaked with jet.— filed under Flowers-Pansy
Flowers of all hue, and without thorn the rose.— filed under Flowers-Rose
These evils I deserve, and more * * * * * * Justly, yet despair not of his final pardon, Whose ear is ever open, and his eye Gracious to re-admit the suppliant.— filed under Fortune
Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall.— filed under Freedom
Perplexed and troubled at his bad success The Tempter stood, nor had what to reply, Discovered in his fraud, thrown from his hope.— filed under Fraud
So glistered the dire Snake, and into fraud Led Eve, our credulous mother, to the Tree Of Prohibition, root of all our woe. S.— filed under Fraud
Some cursed fraud Of enemy hath beguiled thee, yet unknown, And me with thee hath ruined.— filed under Fraud
To satisfy the sharp desire I had Of tasting those fair apples, I resolv'd Not to defer; hunger and thirst at once Powerful persuaders, quicken'd at the scent Of that alluring fruit, urged me so keen.— filed under Fruits
The never-ending flight Of future days.— filed under Futurity
Clergyman's Lady. And add to these retired Leisure, That in trim gardens takes his pleasure.— filed under Garden
And justify the ways of God to men.— filed under God
These are thy glorious works, Parent of good.— filed under God
Who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best: his state Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed, And post o'er land and ocean without rest.— filed under God
Series. Garfield. None But such as are good men can give good things, And that which is not good, is not delicious To a well-governed and wise appetite.— filed under Goodness
Since good, the more Communicated, more abundant grows.— filed under Goodness
He's gone, and who knows how may he re port Thy words by adding fuel to the flame?— filed under Gossip
P. 33. And grace that won who saw to wish her stay.— filed under Gratitude
A grateful mind By owing owes not, but still pays, at once Indebted and discharg'd.— filed under Gratitude
And so sepulchred in such pomp dost lie; That kings for such a tomb would wish to die.— filed under Gratitude
What need a man forestall his date of grief, And run to meet what he would most avoid?— filed under Grief
These false pretexts and varnished colours failing, Rare in thy guilt how foul must thou appear.— filed under Hair
'Twas a hand White, delicate, dimpled, warm, languid, and bland. The hand of a woman is often, in youth, Somewhat rough, somewhat red, somewhat graceless, in truth; Does its beauty refine, as its pulses grow calm, Or as sorrow has crossed the life line in the palm? OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. I. Canto III. St. 18. His red right hand.— filed under Hand
And feel that I am happier than I know.— filed under Happiness
For never can true reconcilement grow, Where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep.— filed under Hatred
Back of the North Wind. Ch. XXXIII. Heard so oft In worst extremes, and on the perilous edge Of battle. C.— filed under Hearing
I was all ear, And took in strains that might create a soul Under the ribs of death.— filed under Hearing
Where more is meant than meets the ear.— filed under Hearing
Heaven open'd wide Her ever-during gates, harmonious sound On golden hinges moving.— filed under Heaven
It were a journey like the path to heaven, To help you find them.— filed under Heaven
The hasty multitude Admiring enter'd, and the work some praise, And some the architect: his hand was known In heaven by many a tower'd structure high, Where scepter'd angels held their residence, And sat as princes.— filed under Heaven
Though in heav'n the trees Of life ambrosial fruitage bear, and vines Yield nectar.— filed under Heaven
A dungeon horrible, on all sides round, As one great furnace, flamed; yet from those flames No light, but rather darkness visible Serv'd only to discover sights of woe, Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace And rest can never dwell, hope never comes That comes to all; but torture without end.— filed under Hell
Hail, horrors, hail, Infernal world! and thou profoundest hell, Receive thy new possessor.— filed under Hell
Hell Grew darker at their frown.— filed under Hell
Long is the way And hard, that out of hell leads up to light.— filed under Hell
Myself am hell; And in the lowest deep a lower deep, Still threat'ning to devour me, opens wide; To which the hell I suffer seems a heaven.— filed under Hell
Nor from hell One step no more than from himself can fly By change of place.— filed under Hell
On a sudden open fly With impetuous recoil and jarring sound Th' infernal doors, and on their hinges grate Harsh thunder.— filed under Hell
The gates that now Stood open wide, belching outrageous flame Far into Chaos, since the fiend pass'd through.— filed under Hell
The wife, where danger or dishonour lurks, Safest and seemliest by her husband stays, Who guards her, or with her the worst endures.— filed under Husband
With thee goes Thy husband, him to follow thou art bound; Where he abides, think there thy native soil.— filed under Husband
Some hypocrites and seeming mortified men, that held down their heads, were like the little images that they place in the very bowing of the vaults of churches, that look as if they held up the church, but are but puppets. Attributed to DR. LAND by BACON- Apothegms. No. 273. But all was false and hollow; though his tongue Dropped manna, and could make the worse appear The better reason, to perplex and dash Maturest counsels.— filed under Hypocrisy
For neither man nor angel can discern Hypocrisy, the only evil that walks Invisible, except to God alone, By his permissive will, through heav'n and earth.— filed under Hypocrisy
Not to know me argues yourselves unknown, The lowest of your throng.— filed under Imagination
For spirits that live throughout Vital in every part, not as frail man, In entrails, heart or head, liver or reins, Cannot but by annihilating die.— filed under Immortality
For who would lose, Though full of pain, this intellectual being, Those thoughts that wander through eternity, To perish rather, swallow'd up and lost In the wide womb of uncreated night, Devoid of sense and motion?— filed under Immortality
They eat, they drink, and in communion sweet Quaff immortality and joy.— filed under Immortality
Mote. The gay motes that people the sunbeams.— filed under Insects-Louse
And when night Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine.— filed under Intemperance
Soon as the potion works, their human count'nance, Th' express resemblance of the gods, is chang'd Into some bruitish form of wolf or bear, Or ounce or tiger, hog, or bearded goat, All other parts remaining as they were ; And they, so perfect in their misery, Not once perceive their foul disfigurement.— filed under Intemperance
An island salt and bare, The haunt of seals, and orcs, and sea-mews clang.— filed under Jealousy
No true love there can be without Its dread penalty-jealousy. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. II. Canto I. St. 24. L. 8. Nor jealousy Was understood, the injur'd lover's hell.— filed under Jealousy
When thou attended gloriously from heaven, Shalt in the sky appear, and from thee send Thy summoning archangels to proclaim Thy dread tribunal.— filed under Judgment
Just are the ways of God, And justifiable to men.— filed under Justice
Yet I shall temper so Justice with mercy, as may illustrate most Them fully satisfied, and thee appease.— filed under Justice
on Education. Lecture I. Only by knowledge of that which is not Thyself, shall thyself be learned. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Know Thyself. I went into the temple, there to hear The teachers of our law, and to propose What might improve my knowledge or their own.— filed under Knowledge
But now my task is smoothly done, I can fly, or I can run.— filed under Labor
The Penates. Sport, that wrinkled Care derides, And Laughter holding both his sides.— filed under Laughter
Retired Leisure, That in trim gardens takes his pleasure.— filed under Leisure
of the Rights of British America. License they mean when they cry, Liberty! For who loves that, must first be wise and good.— filed under Liberty
Life hath set No landmarks before us. S. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. II. Canto V. St. 14. When life leaps in the veins, when it beats in the heart, When it thrills as it fills every animate part, Where lurks it? how works it? *** we scarcely detect it. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. II. Canto I. St. 5. A man's best things are nearest him, Lie close about his feet. U, RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES (Lord Houghton)-The Men of Old. St. 7. For men to tell how human life began Is hard; for who himself beginning knew?— filed under Life
Nor love thy life, nor hate; but what thou liv'st Live well; how long or short permit to heav'n.— filed under Life
So may'st thou live, till like ripe fruit thou drop Into thy mother's lap. C.— filed under Life
And from her native east To journey through the aery gloom began, Spher'd in a radiant cloud, for yet the sun Was not.— filed under Light
But let my due feet never fail To walk the studious cloisters pale, And love the high embowed roof, With antique pillars massy proof, And storied windows richly dight; Casting a dim religious light.— filed under Light
Hail, holy light! offspring of heaven firstborn! Or of th' eternal coeternal beam, May I express thee unblam'd? since God is light And never but in unapproached light Dwelt from eternity, dwelt then in thee, Bright effuence of bright essence increate!— filed under Light
He that has light within his own clear breast May sit i' th' centre and enjoy bright day; But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Benighted walks under the mid-day sun.— filed under Light
There swift return Diurnal, merely to officiate light Round this opacous earth, this punctual spot.— filed under Light
Where glowing embers through the room Teach light to counterfeit a gloom.— filed under Light
With thy long levell'd rule of streaming light.— filed under Light
Abashed the Devil stood, And felt how awful goodness is, and saw Virtue in her own shape how lovely; saw And pined his loss.— filed under Love
Imparadis'd in one another's arms.— filed under Love
It is not virtue, wisdom, valour, wit, Strength, comeliness of shape, or amplest merit That woman's love can win, or long inherit. But what it is, hard is to say, Harder to hit.— filed under Love
So dear I love him, that with him all deaths I could endure, without him live no life.— filed under Love
Good luck befriend thee, Son; for at thy birth The fairy ladies danced upon the hearth.— filed under Luxury
Mammon led them on- Mammon, the least erected Spirit that fell From Heaven: for even in Heaven his looks and thoughts Were always downward bent, admiring more The riches of Heaven's pavement, trodden gold, Than aught divine or holy else enjoyed In vision beatific.— filed under Mammon
For what thou art is mine: Our state cannot be sever'd; we are one, One flesh; to lose thee were to lose myself.— filed under Matrimony
Hail, wedded love, mysterious law; true source Of human offspring.— filed under Matrimony
Therefore God's universal law Gave to the man despotic power Over his female in due awe, Not from that right to part an hour, Smile she or lour.— filed under Matrimony
To the nuptial bower I led her, blushing like the morn; all Heaven, And happy constellations on that hour Shed their selectest influence; the earth Gave sign of gratulation, and each hill; Joyous the birds; fresh gales and gentle airs Whisper'd it to the woods, and from their wings Flung rose, flung odours from the spicy shrub.— filed under Matrimony
Johnson. 1777. Moping melancholy, And moon-struck madness.— filed under Melancholy
Wakes the bitter memory Of what he was, what is, and what must be Worse.— filed under Memory
On their own merits modest men are dumb. GEORGE COLMAN (The Younger)- Epilogue to The Heir-at-Law. By merit raised To that bad eminence.— filed under Merit
Haste thee, Nymph, and bring with thee Jest, and youthful Jollity, Quips, and Cranks, and wanton Wiles, Nods, and Becks, and wreathed Smiles, Such as hang on Hebe's cheek, And love to live in dimple sleek; Sport that wrinkled Care derides, And Laughter holding both his sides.— filed under Merriment
Mirth, admit me of thy crew, To live with her, and live with thee, In unreprov'd pleasures free. S.— filed under Merriment
Soon as midnight brought on the dusky hour Friendliest to sleep and silence.— filed under Midnight
That last infirmity of noble mind. The Tragedy of SIR JOHN VAN OLDEN BARNEVELT (1622). See also— filed under Mind
The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.— filed under Mind
The unsunn'd heaps Of miser's treasures.— filed under Misers
Democracy. Rocks whereon greatest men have oftest wreck'd.— filed under Misfortune
Countess of Rutland. Money brings honor, friends, conquest, and realms.— filed under Money
Longings. Now the bright morning star, day's harbinger, Comes dancing from the east, and leads with her The flowery May, who from her green lap throws The yellow cowslip, and the pale primrose. Hail, bounteous May, that doth inspire Mirth, and youth, and warm desire; Woods and groves are of thy dressing, Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing, Thus we salute thee with our early song, And welcome thee, and wish thee long.— filed under Months-May
Smart's trans. Thou, in our wonder and astonishment Hast built thyself a live-long monument.— filed under Monuments
*** now glow'd the firmament With living sapphires; Hesperus, that led The starry host rode brightest, till the Moon, Rising in clouded majesty, at length, Apparent queen, unveil'd her peerless light, And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw.— filed under Monuments
Flames in the forehead of the morning sky.— filed under Morning
Morn, Wak'd by the circling hours, with rosy hand Unbarr'd the gates of light.— filed under Morning
Now morn, her rosy steps in th' eastern clime Advancing, sow'd the earth with Orient pearl.— filed under Morning
Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet, With charm of earliest birds.— filed under Morning
Till morning fair Came forth with pilgrim steps in amice gray.— filed under Morning
Under the opening eyelids of the morn.— filed under Morning
Yea, music is the Prophet's art; Among the gifts that God hath sent, One of the most magnificent! LONGFELLOw-Christus. Pt. III. Second Interlude. St. 5. As in an organ from one blast of wind To many a row of pipes the soundboard breathes.— filed under Music
Can any mortal mixture of earth's mould Breathe such divine enchanting ravishment?— filed under Music
Lap me in soft Lydian airs, Married to immortal verse, Such as the meeting soul may pierce, In notes, with many a winding bout Of linked sweetness long drawn out.— filed under Music
Ring out yc crystal spheres! Once bless our human ears, If ye have power to touch our senses so; And let your silver chime Move in melodious time; And let the base of Heaven's deep organ blow, And with your ninefold harmony, Make up full consort to the angelic symphony.— filed under Music
Such sweet compulsion doth in music lie.— filed under Music
There let the pealing organ blow, To the full voiced quire below, In service high, and anthems clear, As may with sweetness, through mine ear, Dissolve me into ecstasies, And bring all heaven before mine eyes.— filed under Music
Untwisting all the chains that tie the hidden soul of harmony.— filed under Music
Who shall silence all the airs and madrigals that whisper softness in chambers?— filed under Music
But on and up, where Nature's heart Beats strong amid the hills. RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES (Lord Houghton)-Tragedy of the Lac de Gaube. St. 2. Accuse not Nature, she hath done her part; Do thou but thine!— filed under Nature
And liquid lapse of murmuring streams.— filed under Nature
And live like Nature's bastards, not her sons.— filed under Nature
Into this wild abyss, The womb of Nature and perhaps her grave.— filed under Nature
Written in 1658, printed in 1696. P. 52. So spake the Fiend, and with necessity, The tyrant's plea, excused his devilish deeds.— filed under Necessity
A night of tears! for the gusty rain Had ceased, but the eaves were dripping yet; And the moon look'd forth, as tho' in pain, With her face all white and wet. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- The Wanderer. Bk. II. The Portrait. *** and when night Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine.— filed under Night
Darkness now rose, As daylight sunk, and brought in low'ring Night, Her shadowy offspring.— filed under Night
Eldest Night And Chaos, ancestors of Nature.— filed under Night
*** for now began Night with her sullen wings to double-shade The desert; fowls in their clay nests were couch'd, And now wild beasts came forth, the woods to roam.— filed under Night
*** now glowed the firmament With living sapphires; Hesperus, that led The starry host, rode brightest, till the Moon, Rising in clouded majesty, at length Apparent queen, unveiled her peerless light, And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw.— filed under Night
O thievish Night, Why shouldst thou, but for some felonious end, In thy dark lantern thus close up the stars, That nature hung in heaven, and filled their lamps With everlasting oil, to give due light To the misled and lonely traveller?— filed under Night
Sable-vested Night, eldest of things.— filed under Night
Address. March 4, 1861. Ease would recant Vows made in pain, as violent and void.— filed under November
Ascend, I follow thee, safe guide, the path of Thou lead'st me, and to the hand of heav'n heav'n submit.— filed under Obedience
Son of Heav'n and Earth, , Attend! That thou art happy, owe to God; That thou continuest such, owe to thyself That is, to thy obedience; therein stand.— filed under Obedience
Husbandman's Life. And the maize-field grew and ripened, Till it stood in all the splendor Of its garments green and yellow. LONGFELLOWw-Hiawatha. Pt. XIII. L. 175. Adam, well may we labour, still to dress This garden, still to tend plant, herb, and flower.— filed under Occupations-Agriculture
Each tree Laden with fairest fruit, that hung to th' eye Tempting, stirr'd in me sudden appetite To pluck and eat.— filed under Occupations-Agriculture
(Written in March while on the bridge. Alchemy. If by fire Of sooty coal th' empiric alchymist Can turn, or holds it possible to turn, Metals of drossiest ore to perfect gold.— filed under Occupations-Alchemy
A pillar'd shade High over-arch'd, and echoing walks between.— filed under Occupations-Alchemy
Nor did there want Cornice or frieze with bossy sculpture graven.— filed under Occupations-Alchemy
The hasty multitude Admiring enter'd, and the work some praise, And some the architect: his hand was known In heaven by many a tower'd structure high, Where scepter'd angels held their residence, And sat as princes.— filed under Occupations-Alchemy
Men of Genius. On Habituating Ourselves to an Individual Pursuit. And God made two great lights, great for their use To man, the greater to have rule by day, The less by night, altern.— filed under Occupations-Alchemy
In other part stood one who, at the forge Labouring, two massy clods of iron and brass Had melted.— filed under Occupations-Authorship
Psalm CIV. Verse 15. Of herbs, and other country messes, Which the neat-handed Phillis dresses. S.— filed under Occupations-Cabinet-Making
Detached Thoughts on Books and Reading. For evil news rides post, while good news baits.— filed under Occupations-Journalism
He's gone, and who knows how he may report Thy words by adding fuel to the flame?— filed under Occupations-Journalism
Litigious terms, fat contentions, and flowing fees.— filed under Occupations-Law
And in requital ope his leathern scrip, And show me simples of a thousand names, Telling their strange and vigorous faculties.— filed under Occupations-Medicine
An amber scent of odorous perfume Her harbinger.— filed under Occupations-Painting
Sabean odours from the spicy shore Of Arabie the blest.— filed under Occupations-Painting
He of their wicked ways Shall them admonish, and before them set The paths of righteousness.— filed under Occupations-Preaching
So clomb the first grand thief into God's fold; So since into his church lewd hirelings climb.— filed under Occupations-Preaching
Primitive Man. Thy boist'rous locks, no worthy match For valour to assail, nor by the sword * * * * * * But by the barber's razor best subdued.— filed under Occupations-Tobacconists
Memb. 5. Subsec. 5. Danger will wink on opportunity.— filed under Xvii
Zeal and duty are not slow But on occasion's forelock watchful wait.— filed under Xvii
Thence to the famous orators repair, Those ancient, whose resistless eloquence. Wielded at will that fierce democratie, Shook the Arsenal, and fulmined over Greece, To Macedon, and Artaxerxes' throne.— filed under Oratory
The oracles are dumb, No voice or hideous hum Runs thro' the arched roof in words deceiving.— filed under Oracle
Confusion heard his voice, and wild uproar Stood ruled, stood vast infinitude confined; Till at his second bidding darkness fled, Light shone, and order from disorder sprung. S.— filed under Order
A limbo large and broad since call'd The Paradise of fools to few unknown.— filed under Paradise
So on he fares, and to the border comes, Of Eden, where delicious Paradise, Now nearer, crowns with her enclosure green, As with a rural mound, the champain head Of a steep wilderness.— filed under Paradise
Take heed lest passion sway Thy judgment to do aught, which else free will Would not admit.— filed under Passion
Or arm th' obdured breast With stubborn patience as with triple steel.— filed under Patience
Return from Ireland. Peace hath her victories, No less renowned than war.— filed under Peace
So Satan, whom repulse upon repulse Met ever, and to shameful silence brought, Yet gives not o'er, though desperate of success.— filed under Philosophy
How charming is divine philosophy! Not harsh, and crabbed, as dull fools suppose, But musical as is Apollo's lute, And a perpetual feast of nectar'd sweets, Where no crude surfeit reigns.— filed under Philosophy
That stone, *** Philosophers in vain so long have sought.— filed under Philosophy
Pope's trans. Though his tongue Dropp'd manna, and could make the worse appear The better reason, to perplex and dashb Maturest counsels.— filed under Persuasion
Yet hold it more humane, more heav'nly, first, By winning words to conquer willing hearts, And make persuasion do the work of fear.— filed under Persuasion
For such kind of borrowing as this, if it be not bettered by the borrower, among good authors is accounted plagiary.— filed under Plagiarism
Milton's Hair. Without his rod revers'd, And backward mutters of dissevering power.— filed under Power
of 30th of July, 1847. And touch'd their golden harps, and hymning praised God and his works.— filed under Praise
Join voices, all ye living souls: ye birds, That singing up to heaven-gate ascend, Bear on your wings and in your notes his praise.— filed under Praise
Of whom to be disprais'd were no small praise.— filed under Praise
And if by prayer Incessant I could hope to change the will Of Him who all things can, I would not cease To weary Him with my assiduous cries.— filed under Prayer
But that from us aught should ascend to heav'n So prevalent as to concern the mind Of God high-bless'd, or to incline his will, Hard to belief may seem, yet this will prayer.— filed under Prayer
Hear his sighs though mute; Unskilful with what words to pray, let me Interpret for him.— filed under Prayer
That in our proper motion we ascend Up to our native seat; descent and fall To us is adverse.— filed under Prophecy
Bryant's trans. No mighty trance, or breathed spell Inspires the pale-eyed priest from the prophetic cell.— filed under Prophecy
Hide their diminished heads.— filed under Proverbs
Not to know me argues yourselves unknown, The lowest of your throng.— filed under Proverbs
Husbandry. Huswifely Admonitions. The sum of earthly bliss.— filed under Proverbs
Laun's trans. Surer to prosper than prosperity could have assur'd us.— filed under Prosperity
*** his providence Out of our evil seek to bring forth good.— filed under Providence
What in me is dark, Illumine; what is low, raise and support; That to the height of this great argument I may assert eternal Providence, And justify the ways of God to men.— filed under Providence
on Education. Lecture VII. Back to thy punishment, False fugitive, and to thy speed add wings.— filed under Punishment
Our torments also may in length of time Become our elements.— filed under Punishment
Unrespited, unpitied, unrepriev'd.— filed under Quackery
on Mental Culture. His classical reading is great: he can quote Horace, Juvenal, Ovid, and Martial by rote. *** He has read Metaphysics Spinoza and Kant; And Theology too: I have heard him descant Upon Basil and Jerome. Antiquities, art, He is fond of. He knows the old masters by heart, And his taste is refined. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Canto II. Pt. IV. Who reads Incessantly, and to his reading brings not A spirit and judgment equal or superior, (And what he brings what need he elsewhere seek?) Uncertain and unsettled still remains, Deep versed in books and shallow in himself, Crude or intoxicate, collecting toys And trifles for choice matters, worth a sponge, As children gathering pebbles on the shore.— filed under Reading
But all was false and hollow; though his tongue Dropt manna, and could make the worse appear The better reason, to perplex and dash Maturest counsels.— filed under Reason
Indu'd With sanctity of reason.— filed under Reason
Subdue By force, who reason for their law refuse, Right reason for their law.— filed under Reason
And now without redemption all mankind Must have been lost, adjudged to death and hell By doom severe.— filed under Redemption
Say, heavenly pow'rs, where shall we find such love? Which of ye will be mortal to redeem Man's mortal crime, and just th' unjust to save?— filed under Redemption
World. P. 314-315, Farewell, remorse: all good to me is lost; Evil, be thou my good.— filed under Remorse
When the scourge Inexorable, and the torturing hour Calls us to penance.— filed under Repentance
Pope's trans. Revenge, at first though sweet, Bitter ere long back on itself recoils.— filed under Revenge
Which, if not victory, is yet revenge.— filed under Revenge
A crown, Golden in show, is but a wreath of thorns, Brings dangers, troubles, cares, and sleepless nights To him who wears the regal diadem.— filed under Royalty
His fair large front and eye sublime declared Absolute rule; and hyacinthine locks Round from his parted forelock manly hung Clustering, but not beneath his shoulders broad.— filed under Royalty
*** For such a numerous host Fled not in silence through the frighted deep With ruin upon ruin, rout on rout, Confusion worse confounded.— filed under Ruin
So sang they, and the empyrean rung With Hallelujahs. Thus was Sabbath kept. T.— filed under Rumor
Who seeks for aid Must show how service sought can be repaid. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Siege of Constantinople. Servant of God, well done..— filed under Service
They also serve who only stand and wait.— filed under Service
Then to the well-trod stage anon If Jonson's learned sock be on, Or sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy's child, Warble his native wood-notes wild.— filed under Shakespeare
What needs my Shakespeare for his honored bones The labors of an age in piled stones? Or that his hallowed reliques should be hid Under a star-y-pointing pyramid? Dear son of Memory, great heir of fame, What need'st thou such weak witness of thy name? Thou in our wonder and astonishment Hath built thyself a livelong monument.— filed under Shakespeare
Then purg'd with euphrasy and rue The visual nerve, for he had much to see.— filed under Sight
Her rash hand in evil hour Forth reaching to the fruit, she pluck'd, she eat; Earth felt the wound, and Nature from her seat Sighing through all her works gave signs of woe That all was lost.— filed under Sin
Law can discover sin, but not remove, Save by those shadowy expiations weak.— filed under Sin
So many laws argues so many sins.— filed under Sin
Or bid the soul of Orpheus sing Such notes as, warbled to the string, Drew iron tears down Pluto's cheek.— filed under Singers
Who, as they sung, would take the prison'd soul And lap it in Elysium.— filed under Singers
O execrable son! so to aspire Above his brethren, to himself assuming Authority usurp'd, from God not given. He gave us only over beast, fish, fowl, Dominion absolute; that right we hold By his donation; but man over men He made not lord; such title to himself Reserving, human left from human free.— filed under Slavery
Thou driftest gently down the tides of sleep. LONGFELLOw-To a Child. L. 115. For his sleep Was aery light, from pure digestion bred.— filed under Sleep
The timely dew of sleep Now falling with soft slumb'rous weight inclines Our eyelids.— filed under Sleep
While the bee with honied thigh, That at her flowery work doth sing, And the waters murmuring With such a consort as they keep, Entice the dewy-feather'd sleep.— filed under Sleep
A smile that glow'd Celestial rosy red, love's proper hue.— filed under Smiles
For smiles from reason flow To brute deny'd, and are of love the food.— filed under Smiles
Lord Byron. For solitude sometimes is best society, And short retirement urges sweet return.— filed under Society
And Wisdom's self Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude, Where, with her best nurse, Contemplation, She plumes her feathers, and lets grow her wings, That in the various bustle of resort Were all too ruffled, and sometimes impaired.— filed under Solitude
For solitude sometimes is best society, And short retirement urges sweet return.— filed under Solitude
And filled the air with barbarous dissonance.— filed under Sound
Sonorous metal blowing martial sounds, At which the universal host up sent A shout that tore hell's concave, and beyond Frighted the reign of Chaos and old Night.— filed under Sound
Their rising all at once was as the sound Of thunder heard remote. C.— filed under Sound
When Adam first of men, To first of women Eve, thus moving speech, Turn'd him all ear to hear new utterance flow.— filed under Speech
All heart they live, all head, all eye, all ear, All intellect, all sense, and as they please They limb themselves, and colour, shape, or size Assume, as likes them best, condense or rare.— filed under Spirits
For spirits when they please Can either sex assume, or both.— filed under Spirits
Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth Unseen, both when we wake, and when we sleep. C.— filed under Spirits
Of calling shapes, and beck'ning shadows dire, And airy tongues that syllable men's names.— filed under Spirits
Quiet Skies. A broad and ample road, whose dust is gold, And pavement stars.— filed under Stars
And made the stars, And set them in the firmament of heav'n, T' illuminate the earth, and rule the day In their vicissitude, and rule the night.— filed under Stars
At whose sight all the stars Hide their diminish'd heads.— filed under Stars
Hither, as to their fountain, other stars Repairing in their golden urns draw light, And hence the morning planet gilds her horns.— filed under Stars
Now the bright morning-star, day's harbinger, Comes dancing from the east.— filed under Stars
So sinks the day-star in the ocean-bed, And yet anon repairs his drooping head, And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore Flames in the forehead of the morning sky.— filed under Stars
The planets in their station list'ning stood.— filed under Stars
The star that bids the shepherd fold, Now the top of heaven doth hold.— filed under Stars
Pope's trans. And, weaponless himself, Made arms ridiculous.— filed under Strength
Beholding the bright countenance of truth in the quiet and still air of delightful studies.— filed under Stupidity
Carthon. Ossian's Address to the Sun The gay motes that people the sunbeams.— filed under Summer
SUN (THE). The great luminary Aloof the vulgar constellations thick, That from his lordly eye keep distance due, Dispenses light from far.— filed under Summer
Thou sun, of this great world both eye and soul.— filed under Summer
And the gilded car of day, His glowing axle doth allay In the steep Atlantic stream.— filed under Sunset
For I no sooner in my heart divin'd, My heart, which by a secret harmony Still moves with thine, joined in connection sweet.— filed under Talk
Thrice he assay'd, and thrice in spite of scorn Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth.— filed under Tears
Without the meed of some melodious tear.— filed under Tears
If all the world Should in a pet of temp'rance, feed on pulse, Drink the clear stream, and nothing wear but frieze, Th' All-giver would be unthank'd, would be unprais'd.— filed under Sam'L Johnson-Hannah More's
Impostor; do not charge most innocent Nature, As if she would her children should be riotous With her abundance; she, good cateress, Means her provision only to the good, That live according to her sober laws, And holy dictate of spare temperance.— filed under Sam'L Johnson-Hannah More's
O madness to think use of strongest wines And strongest drinks our chief support of health, When God with these forbidden made choice to rear His mighty champion, strong above compare, Whose drink was only from the liquid brook.— filed under Temptation
Well observe The rule of Not too much, by temperance taught In what thou eat'st and drink'st.— filed under Temptation
Thought alone is eternal. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- C. Lucile. Pt. II. Canto VI. St. 16. Grand Thoughts that never can be wearied out, Showing the unreality of Time. RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES (Lord Houghton)-Sonnet. To Charles Lamb. He that has light within his own clear breast, May sit i' th' centre and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul, and foul thoughts, Benighted walks under the midday sun.— filed under Thought
Thoughts that voluntary move Harmonious numbers.— filed under Thought
The thunder, Wing'd with red lightning and impetuous rage, Perhaps hath spent his shafts, and ceases now To bellow through the vast and boundless deep.— filed under Tides
Day and night, Seed-time and harvest, heat and hoary frost Shall hold their course, till fire purge all things new.— filed under Time
Time will run back and fetch the age of gold.— filed under Time
Fugitive Slaves near Washington. Hast thou betrayed my credulous innocence With vizor'd falsehood and base forgery?— filed under Treason
And all amid them stood the Tree of Life, High eminent, blooming ambrosial fruit Of vegetable gold.— filed under Treason
Cedar, and pine, and fir, and branching palm, A sylvan scene, and as the ranks ascend Shade above shade, a woody theatre Of stateliest view.— filed under Treason
Citron. Citrus Medica. Awake! the morning shines, and the fresh field Calls us; we lose the prime, to mark how spring Our tended plants, how blows the citron grove, What drops the myrrh, and what the balmy reed. How nature paints her colours, how the bee Sits on the bloom, extracting liquid sweet.— filed under Trees And Plants-Chestnut
Pope's trans. So counsel'd he, and both together went Into the thickest wood; there soon they chose The fig-tree, not that kind for fruit renowned, But such as at this day to Indians known In Malabar or Decan spreads her arms, Branching so broad and long, that in the ground The bended twigs take root, and daughters grow About the mother tree, a pillar'd shade High overarch'd, and echoing walks between.— filed under Trees And Plants-Chestnut
Kindles the gummy bark of fir or pine, And sends a comfortable heat from far, Which might supply the sun.— filed under Trees And Plants-Chestnut
And every shepherd tells his tale Under the hawthorn in the dale.— filed under Trees And Plants-Chestnut
Olive. Olea Europxa. See there the olive grove of Academe, Plato's retirement, where the Attic bird Trills her thick-warbled notes the summer long.— filed under Trees And Plants-Palm
To arched walks of twilight groves, And shadows brown that Sylvan loves, Of pine.— filed under Trees And Plants-Palm
Rocks whereon greatest men have oftest have oftest wreck'd.— filed under Trials
Not a truth has to art or to science been given, But brows have ached for it, and souls toil'd and striven; And many have striven, and many have fail'd, And many died, slain by the truth they assail'd. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. II. Canto VI. St. 1. Ev'n them who kept thy truth so pure of old, When all our fathers worshipp'd stocks and stones, Forget not. и.— filed under Truth
Piedmont. Truth is as impossible to be soiled by any outward touch as the sunbeam.— filed under Truth
of Divorce. Who ever knew truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?— filed under Truth
Summer Nights. Dim eclipse, disastrous twilight.— filed under Twilight
From that high mount of God whence light and shade Spring both, the face of brightest heaven had changed To grateful twilight.— filed under Twilight
Oh, shame to men! devil with devil damn'd disagree Firm concord holds, men only Of creatures rational.— filed under Unkindness
In vain doth valour bleed, While Avarice and Rapine share the land.— filed under Valor
Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth With such a full and unwithdrawing hand, Covering the earth with odours, fruits, and flocks, Thronging the seas with spawn innumerable, But all to please and sate the curious taste?— filed under Variety
States Senate. 1832. Who overcomes By force, hath overcome but half his foe.— filed under Victory
Young Man. God sure esteems the growth and completing of one virtuous person, more than the restraint of ten vicious.— filed under Virtue
the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing. Or, if Virtue feeble were, Heaven itself would stoop to her.— filed under Virtue
Virtue could see to do what Virtue would By her own radiant light, though sun and moon Were in the flat sea sunk.— filed under Virtue
Virtue may be assailed, but never hurt, Surprised by unjust force, but not inthralled; Yea, even that which mischief meant most harm Shall in the happy trial prove most glory.— filed under Virtue
Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimæras dire.— filed under Visions
O visions ill foreseen! Better had I Liv'd ignorant of future, so had borne My part of evil only.— filed under Visions
The Angel ended, and in Adam's ear So charming left his voice, that he awhile Thought him still speaking, still stood fix'd to hear.— filed under Voice
There is war in the skies! S. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Lucile. Pt. I. Canto IV. St. 12. Arms on armour clashing bray'd Horrible discord, and the madding wheels Of brazen chariots ray'd; dire was the noise Of conflict.— filed under War
Black it stood as night, Fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell, And shook a dreadful dart.— filed under War
Others more mild, Retreated in a silent valley, sing With notes angelical to many a harp Their own heroic deeds and hapless fall By doom of battle.— filed under War
So frown'd the mighty combatants, that hell Grew darker at their frown.— filed under War
Th' imperial ensign, which, full high advanc'd, Shone like a meteor, streaming to the wind. C.— filed under War
To overcome in battle, and subdue Nations, and bring home spoils with infinite Man-slaughter, shall be held the highest pitch Of human glory.— filed under War
What boots it at one gate to make defence, And at another to let in the foe?— filed under War
What though the field be lost? All is not lost; the unconquerable will, And study of revenge, immortal hate And courage never to submit or yield, And what is else not to be overcome.— filed under War
The rising world of waters dark and deep.— filed under Water
Eye me, blest Providence, and square my trial To my proportion'd strength.— filed under Weakness
If weakness may excuse, What murderer, what traitor, parricide, Incestuous, sacrilegious, but may plead it? All wickedness is weakness; that plea, there fore, With God or man will gain thee no remission— filed under Weakness
To be weak is miserable, Doing or suffering.— filed under Weakness
Over his Cigar. III. Let none admire That riches grow in hell; that soil may best Deserve the precious bane.— filed under Wealth
Awake, My fairest, my espous'd, my latest found, Heaven's last best gift, my ever new delight!— filed under Wife
For nothing lovelier can be found In woman, than to study household good, And good works in her husband to promote.— filed under Wife
What thou bidd'st Unargu'd I obey, so God ordains; God is thy law, thou mine; to know no more Is woman's happiest knowledge and her praise.— filed under Wife
The winds with wonder whist, Smoothly the waters kisst.— filed under Wind
When the gust hath blown his fill, Ending on the rustling leaves, With minute drops from off the eaves.— filed under Wind
While rocking winds are piping loud.— filed under Wind
Bacchus, that first from out the purple grape, Crushed the sweet poison of misused wine.— filed under Wine And Spirits
But to know That which before us lies in daily life, Is the prime wisdom. C.— filed under Wisdom
Socrates *** Whom, well inspir'd, the oracle pronounc'd Wisest of men.— filed under Wisdom
Though wisdom wake, suspicion sleeps At wisdom's gate, and to simplicity Resigns her charge, while goodness thinks no ill Where no ill seems.— filed under Wisdom
For nothing lovelier can be found In woman, than to study household good.— filed under Woman
Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, In every gesture dignity and love.— filed under Woman
My latest found, Heaven's last best gift, my ever new delight!— filed under Woman
*** create at last Oh ! why did God, * create at last * * * * * * This novelty on earth, this fair defect Of nature, and not fill the world at once With men as angels without feminine. S.— filed under Woman
Papers. Second series. The Courtin'. St. 15. And every shepherd tells his tale Under the hawthorn in the dale. S.— filed under Wooing
Her virtue and the conscience of her worth, That would be woo'd, and not unsought be won.— filed under Wooing
His words, *** like so many nimble and airy servitors, trip about him at command.— filed under Words
God be thank'd that the dead have left still Good undone for the living to do- Still some aim for the heart and the will And the soul of a man to pursue. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)- Epilogue. Man hath his daily work of body or mind Appointed.— filed under Work
The work under our labour grows Luxurious by restraint.— filed under Work
Above the smoke and stir of this dim spot Which men call Earth.— filed under Work
A boundless continent, Dark, waste, and wild, under the frown of night Starless expos'd.— filed under Work
Brightest seraph, tell In which of all these shining orbs hath man His fixed seat, or fixed seat hath none, But all these shining orbs his choice to dwell.— filed under Work
Hanging in a golden chain This pendent world.— filed under Work
The world was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide.— filed under Work
Ev'n them who kept thy truth so pure of old, When all our fathers worshipp'd stocks and stones.— filed under Worship
Piedmont. How often from the steep Of echoing hill or thicket have we heard Celestial voices to the midnight air, Sole, or responsive each to other's note, Singing their great Creator?— filed under Worship
Johnson. 1779. A Spirit, zealous, as he seemed, to know More of the Almighty's works, and chiefly Man, God's latest image. C.— filed under Zeal
But his zeal None seconded, as out of season judged, Or singular and rash.— filed under Zeal
But zeal moved thee; To please thy gods thou didst it!— filed under Zeal