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James Russell Lowell

James Russell Lowell Quotes

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Famous James Russell Lowell Quotes

“AND what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days; Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune, And over it softly her warm ear lays; Whether we look, or whether we listen, We hear life murmur, or see it glisten.”

IfsTryingLooksEarthHeavenPerfectSummerEarsLaysWarmTunesOver ItJunePerfect DaysGlisten
Book:The Vision of Sir Launfal And Other Poems by James Russell Lowell, Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Julian W. Abernethy, PH.D.
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“How I do love the earth. I feel it thrill under my feet. I feel somehow as if it were conscious of my love, as if something passed into my dancing blood from it.”

IfsFeelsEarthBloodFeetConsciousDancingThrill
Book:The Vision of Sir Launfal And Other Poems by James Russell Lowell, Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Julian W. Abernethy, PH.D.
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“Earth gets its price for what Earth gives us; The beggar is taxed for a corner to die in, The priest hath his fee who comes and shrives us, We bargain for the graves we lie in; Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold... 'T is heaven alone that is given away, 'T is only God may be had for the asking; There is no price set on the lavish summer, And June may be had by the poorest comer.”

GivingMayEarthLyingDiesGivenHeavenMoneyCostSummerGoldAskingCornersGravesPriestsJuneBeggarBargainsPoorestFeesDross
Book:The Early Poems of James Russell Lowell: With Biographical Sketch
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“Now on the hills I hear the thunder mutter... Nearer and nearer rolls the thunder-clap, - You can hear the quick heart of the tempest beat.... Look! look! that livid flash! And instantly follows the rattling thunder, As if some cloud-crag, split asunder, Fell, splintering with a ruinous crash, On the Earth, which crouches in silence under; And now a solid gray wall of rain Shuts off the landscape, mile by mile.”

IfsLooksHeartEarthSilenceWallBeatsRainCloudsMilesWeatherHillsLandscapeGraySplitsFlashCrashThunderTempest
Author:James Russell Lowell
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“Again, now, now, again Plashes the rain in heavy gouts, The crinkled lightning Seems ever brightening... And loud and long Again the thunder shouts His battle-song, - One quivering flash, One wildering crash, Followed by silence dead and dull, As if the cloud, let go, Leapt bodily below To whelm the earth in one mad overthrow, And then a total lull.”

IfsLongSeemsEarthSongSilenceBattleLetting GoRainMadCloudsHeavyWeatherLoudDullFlashLightningCrashThunderLullsGout
Book:The poetical works of James Russell Lowell
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“Count me o'er earth's chosen heroes, - they were souls that stood alone, While the men they agonized for hurled the contumelious stone, Stood serene, and down the future saw the golden beam incline To the side of perfect justice, mastered by their faith divine, By one man's plain truth to manhood and to God's supreme design.”

MenSoulEarthSidesJusticePerfectSawsDesignDivineHe ManHeroStonesSupremeChosenGoldenOne ManManhoodBeamSereneIncline
Book:The poetical works of James Russell Lowell
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