Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Edwin Percy Whipple

Quote by Edwin Percy Whipple

“Heroism is no extempore work of transient impulse--a rocket rushing fretfully up to disturb the darkness by which, after a moment's insulting radiance, it is ruthlessly swallowed up,--but a steady fire, which darts forth tongues of flame. It is no sparkling epigram of action, but a luminous epic of character.”

Quote by Edwin Percy Whipple

Create image

Author

Edwin Percy Whipple

Edwin Percy Whipple was an American essayist known for his significant contributions to 19th-century American literature. Born on March 8, 1819, in Boston, Massachusetts, Whipple passed away on June 16, 1886. His essays, which often delved into themes of morality and social issues, established him as a prominent figure in the literary world. more

You May Also Like

“A politician weakly and amiably in the right is no match for a politician tenaciously and pugnaciously in the wrong. You cannot, by tying an opinion, to a man's tongue, make him the representative of that opinion; and at the close of any battle for principles, his name will be found neither among the dead nor among the wounded, but among the missing.”

MenFoundPoliticsNamesOpinionPrinciplesMissingPoliticianBattleTongueRepresentativesWounded
Author:Edwin Percy Whipple
Create image

“The great characteristic of men of active genius is a sublime self-confidence, springing not from self-conceit, but from an intense identification of the man with his object, which lifts him altogether above the fear of danger and death, which gives to his enterprise a character of insanity to the common eye, and which communicates an almost superhuman audacity to his will.”

MenGivingSelfCharacterEyeCommonDangerObjectsHe ManGeniusCommunicateActiveSelf ConfidenceIntenseLiftsInsanityCharacteristicsEnterpriseSublimeConceitIdentificationAudacitySuperhumanGreat Character
Book:Literature and life, lects
Create image

“A composition which dazzles at first sight by gaudy epithets, or brilliant turns or expression, or glittering trains of imagery, may fade gradually from the mind, leaving no enduring impression; but words which flow fresh and warm from a full heart, and which are instinct with the life and breath of human feeling, pass into household memories, and partake of the immortality of the affections from which they spring.”

MindFirstsHumansHeartMayFeelingsTurnsMemoriesStyleExpressionSpringFlowSightBreathsTrainInstinctEndureLeavingAffectionWarmBrilliantImpressionImmortalityFadesHouseholdCompositionImageryDazzleGaudyEpithetFull Hearts
Book:Essays and Reviews
Create image