Henry Van Dyke Quotes

“The strength of your life is measured by the strength of your will.”

“A little while the rose, And after that the thorn; An hour of dewy morn, And then the glamour goes. Ah, love in beauty born, A little while the rose!”

“To desire and strive to be of some service to the world, to aim at doing something which shall really increase the happiness and welfare and virtue of mankind - this is a choice which is possible for all of us; and surely it is a good haven to sail for.”

“Jazz: Music invented for the torture of imbeciles.”

“Love is not getting, but giving; It is goodness, and honor, and peace and pure living.”

“Time is: Too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear.”

“Deeds not Words: I say so too! And yet I find it somehow true, A word may help a man in need, To nobler act and braver deed.”

“The storm is ended! The impartial sunLaughs down upon the battle lost and won,And crowns the triumph of the cloudy hostIn rolling lines retreating to the coast.”

“There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher.”

“Look around for a place to sow a few seeds.”

“How fascinating is death, the extinction of life. One moment here and the next gone. The light put out and only the empty bag of the body left.”

“I know that Europe's wonderful, yet something seems to lack;The Past is too much with her, and the people looking back.”

“For those who love... time is eternity.”

“The shadow by my finger cast Divides the future from the past: Before it, sleeps the unborn hour, In darkness, and beyond thy power. Behind its unreturning line, The vanished hour, no longer thine: One hour alone is in thy hands,- The NOW on which the shadow stands.”

“Those who would see wonderful things must often be ready to travel alone.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

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

“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!”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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