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James Russell Lowell

James Russell Lowell Quotes

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Famous James Russell Lowell Quotes

“He who esteems the Virginia reel A bait to draw saints from their spiritual weal, And regards the quadrille as a far greater knavery Than crushing His African children with slavery, Since all who take part in a waltz or cotillon Are mounted for hell on the devil's own pillion, Who, as every true orthodox Christian well knows, Approaches the heart through the door of the toes.”

KnowsWellsHeartChildrenChristianSpiritualHellGreaterDoorsApproachDrawsDevilRegardSlaveryDancingSaintEsteemCrushOrthodoxToesOrthodox ChristianVirginiaBaitVery TrueWaltzKnavery
Book:Delphi Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell (Illustrated)
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“O chime of sweet Saint Charity, Peal soon that Easter morn When Christ for all shall risen be, And in all hearts new-born! That Pentecost when utterance clear To all men shall be given, When all shall say My Brother here, And hear My Son in heaven!”

MenHeartGivenHeavenChristBornClearSonSweetBrotherCharitySaintMy BrotherMy SonEasterRisenUtterancePentecostChimes
Book:The poetical works of James Russell Lowell
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“A nature wise With finding in itself the types of all, With watching from the dim verge of the time What things to be are visible in the gleams Thrown forward on them from the luminous past, Wise with the history of its own frail heart, With reverence and sorrow, and with love, Broad as the world, for freedom and for man.”

MenWorldHeartCharacterPastWiseTypeSorrowFindingsVisibleThrownBroadsReverenceLuminousVergeFrailGleam
Book:Miscellaneous poems. Memorial verses. Sonnets. I-XXVII. L'Envoi. Vision of Sir Launfal
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“God does not weigh criminality in our scales. We have one absolute, with the seal of authority upon it; and with us an ounce is an ounce, and a pound a pound. God's measure is the heart of the offender,--a balance which varies with every one of us, a balance so delicate that a tear cast in the other side may make the weight of error kick the beam.”

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Author:James Russell Lowell
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“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.”

GivingHeartSoulWholeHandsRunningTurnsPoorDarknessDoorsDutyBlessingEmptyGoldSightStoresThreadWorthlessPalmsStarvingSustainingSlenderAlmsTurn Me
Author:James Russell Lowell
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“Over our manhood bend the skies; Against our fallen and traitor lives The great winds utter prophecies; With our faint hearts the mountain strives, Its arms outstretched, the druid wood Waits with its benedicite And to our age’s drowsy blood Still shouts the inspiring sea.”

HeartStillsAgeWaitingNatureBloodSeaSkyWindArmsMountainStriveWoodsFallenProphecyManhoodStrifeTraitorDrowsyDruids
Book:The poetical works of James Russell Lowell
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“Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it, We are happy now because God so wills it; No matter how barren the past may have been, 'T is enough for us now that the leaves are green; We sit in the warm shade and feel right well How the sap creeps up and the blossoms swell... The breeze comes whispering in our ear, That dandelions are blossoming near... Every thing is upward striving; 'T is as easy now for the heart to be true As for grass to be green or skies to be blue, - 'T is the natural way of living.”

WayFeelsWellsHeartMayHas BeensMatterEnoughPastEasyNaturalSkySummerEarsBlueGreenStriveWarmBeing TrueGrassShadeBreezeCreepsWhisperingBarrenFeels RightSapBlossomingDandelions
Author:James Russell Lowell
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“In the storm, like a prophet o'ermaddened, Thou singest and tossest thy branches; Thy heart with the terror is gladdened, Thou forebodest the dread avalanches.... In the calm thou o'erstretchest the valleys With thine arms, as if blessings imploring, Like an old king led forth from his palace, When his people to battle are pouring.”

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Book:Delphi Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell (Illustrated)
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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.”

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Author:James Russell Lowell
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