Henry Van Dyke Quotes

Let me but find it in my heart to say, When vagrant wishes beckon me astray, "This is my work; my blessing, not my doom; Of all who live, I am the one by whom This work can best be done in the right way."

A friend is what the heart needs all the time.

The woods would be quiet if no bird sang but the one that sang best.

You can never begin to live until you dare to die.

For real company and friendship, there is nothing outside the animal kingdom that is comparable to a river.

Flowers rejoice when night is done, Lift their heads to greet the sun; Sweetest looks and odours raise, In a silent hymn of praise.

No amount of energy will take the place of thought.

So let the way wind up the hill or down, O’er rough or smooth, the journey will be joy; Still seeking what I sought when but a boy, New friendship, high adventure, and a crown. My heart will keep the courage of the quest, And hope the road’s last turn will be the best.

Culture is the habit of being pleased with the best and knowing why.

You never see the stock called Happiness quoted on the exchange.

What is Friendship? Something deep That the heart can spend and keep: Wealth that greatens while we give, Praise that heartens us to live.

Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love, to work, to play, and to look up at the stars.

The simple life which blandly ignores all care and conflict, soon becomes flabby and invertebrate, sentimental and gelatinous.

Love is the best thing in the world, and the thing that lives the longest.

No amount of energy will take the place of thought. A strenuous life with its eyes shut is a kind of wild insanity.

Hours fly,Flowers die:New days,New ways:Pass by!Love stays.

It is better to follow even the shadow of the best, than to remain content with the worst.

I'm only wishing to go a-fishing;For this the month of May was made.

A clean and sensitive conscience, a steady and scrupulous integrity in small things as well as large, is the most valuable of all possessions, to a nation as to an individual.

The world is full of warfare 'twixt the evil and the good;I watched the battle from afar as one who understoodThe shouting and confusion, the bloody, blundering fight-How few there are that see it clear, how few that wage it right!

The best rose-bush, after all, is not that which has the fewest thorns, but that which bears the finest roses.

Gratitude is a two fold love - love coming to visit us, and love running out to greet a welcome guest.

There is only one way to get ready for immortality, and that is to love this life and live it as bravely and faithfully and cheerfully as we can.

Favorite People, Favorite Places,Favorite Memories of the past ...These are the joys of a lifetimeThose are the things that last

There is no conflict between the Old and the New; the conflict is between the False and the True.

The brave man is intelligent; he faces danger because he understands it and is prepared to meet it. The drunkard who runs, in the delirium of intoxication, into a burning house is not brave; he is only stupid. But the clear-eyed hero who makes his way, with every sense alert and every nerve strung, into the hell of flames to rescue some little child, proves his courage.

Heaven is blest with perfect rest, but the blessing of Earth is toil.

It is better to burn the candle at both ends, and in the middle, too, than to put it away in the closet and let the mice eat it.

The more keenly we are awake to the perils of life, the higher and grander is the possibility of being truly brave.

Like water spilt upon the ground--alas, Our little lives flow swiftly on and pass; Yet may they bring rich harvests and green grass!

In the progress of personality, first comes a declaration of independence, then a recognition of interdependence.

Memory is a capricious and arbitrary creature. You never can tell what pebble she will pick up from the shore of life to keep among her treasures, or what inconspicuous flower of the field she will preserve as the symbol of "thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears." . . . And yet I do not doubt that the most Important things are always the best remembered.

In warlike pomp, with banners flowing, The regiments of autumn stood: I saw their gold and scarlet glowing From every hillside, every wood.

Fidelity is simply daring to be true in small things as well as great.

A flawless cup: how delicate and fine The flowing curve of every jewelled line! Look, turn it up or down, 'tis perfect still-- But holds no drop of life's heart-warming wine.

Love that leads life upward is the noblest and the best.

O' who will walk with me along lifes merry way? A comrade blithe and full of glee, who dares to laugh out loud and free.

What do I owe my father? Everything!

The lintel low enough to keep out pomp and pride; The threshold high enough to turn deceit aside; The doorband strong enough from robbers to defend; This door will open at a touch to welcome every friend.

Modest egotism is the salt of conversation; you do not want too much of it, but if it is altogether omitted, everything tastes flat.

These are the things I prize And hold of dearest worth: Light of the sapphire skies, Peace of the silent hills, Shelter of the forests, comfort of the grass, Music of birds, murmur of little rills, Shadows of cloud that swiftly pass, And, after showers, The smell of flowers And of the good brown earth,- And best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth.

If all the world were music, Our hearts would often long For one sweet strain of silence. To break the endless song.

It is better to desire the things we have than to have the things we desire.

If only the best birds sang, the forest would be silent.

Happiness is inward, and not outward; and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.

If all the skies were sunshine Our faces would be fain To feel once more upon them The cooling splash of rain. If all the world were music, Our hearts would often long For one sweet strain of silence, To break the endless song If life were always merry, Our souls would seek relief, And rest from weary laughter In the quiet arms of grief.

We measure success by accumulation. The measure is false. The true measure is appreciation. He who loves most has most.

One truly affectionate soul in a family will evert a sweetening and harmonizing influence upon all its members.

The meditative angler is not exempt from sensational periods. There are times when all the uncertainty of his chosen pursuit seems to condense itself into one big chance, and stand out before him like a salmon on the top wave of a rapid. He sees his luck hangs by a single strand of gut, and he cannot tell whether it will hold or break. This is the thrilling moment and he never forgets it.

Thou warden of the western gate, above Manhattan Bay, The fogs of doubt that hid thy face are driven clean away: Thine eyes at last look far and clear, thou liftest high thy hand To spread the light of liberty world-wide for every land.

It is with rivers as it is with people: the greatest are not always the most agreeable nor the best to live with.

be glαd of life, becαuse it gives you the chαnce to love αnd to work αnd to plαy αnd to look up αt the stαrs; to be sαtisfied with your posessions, to despise nothing in the world except fαlsehood αnd meαnness αnd to feαr nothing except cowαrdice; to be governed by your αdmirαtions rαther thαn by your disgusts, to covet nothing thαt is your neighbour's except his kindness of heαrt αnd gentleness of mαnners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends and to spend αs much time αs you cαn with body αnd with spirit.

The worlds in which we live at heart are one, The world "I am," the fruit of "I have done"; And underneath these worlds of flower and fruit, The world "I love,"--the only living root.

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.

Life is an arrow, therefore you must know What mark to aim at, how to use the bow-- Then draw it to the head and let it go!

Many a treasure besides Ali Baba's is unlocked with a verbal key.

Be grateful for the tiny details of your life and make room for unexpected and beautiful blessings.

Peace without Justice is a low estate,— A coward cringing to an iron Fate! But Peace through Justice is the great ideal,— We'll pay the price of war to make it real.

Oh, London is a man's town, there's power in the air; And Paris is a woman's town, with flowers in her hair; And it's sweet to dream in Venice, and it's great to study Rome; But when it comes to living, there is no place like home.

As long as habit and routine dictate the pattern of living, new dimensions of the soul will not emerge.