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James Russell Lowell

James Russell Lowell Quotes

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Famous James Russell Lowell Quotes

“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.”

HeartMayDoeSidesTearsBalanceAuthorityJudgmentWeightAbsolutesErrorsCastsScalesKicksPoundsDelicateVaryBeamSealsOffendersCriminality
Author:James Russell Lowell
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“It is curious for one who studies the action and reaction of national literature on each other, to see the humor of Swift and Sterne and Fielding, after filtering through Richter, reappear in Carlyle with a tinge of Germanism that makes it novel, alien, or even displeasing, as the case may be, to the English mind.”

MindMayActionLiteratureCasesNovelStudyStyleReactionsCuriousAliensAction And Reaction
Book:Literary essays; Among my books, My study windows, Fireside travels
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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 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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