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Quote by James A. Garfield

“We hold reunions, not for the dead, for there is nothing in all the earth that you and I can do for the dead. They are past our help and past our praise. We can add to them no glory, we can give to them no immortality. They do not need us, but forever and forever more we need them.”

Quote by James A. Garfield

Author

James A. Garfield

James A. Garfield was the 20th President of the United States, serving from 1881. His presidency was marked by efforts to reform the railroad and postal systems and to balance the relationship between the federal government and the states. Unfortunately, he was assassinated while in office, becoming the first U.S. president to be assassinated. more

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Book:The works of James Abram Garfield. (2 Volumes) Volume 2

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“At present, the most valuable gift which can be bestowed upon women is something to do which they can do well and worthily, and thereby maintain themselves.”

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“Individuals may wear for a time the glory of our institutions, but they carry it not to the grave with them. Like raindrops from heaven, they may pass through the circle of the shining bow and add to its luster; but when they have sunk in the earth again, the proud arch still spans the sky and shines gloriously on.”

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“There are times in the history of men and nations, when they stand so near the vale that separates mortals from the immortals, time from eternity, and men from their God, that they can almost hear the beatings, and feel the pulsations of the heart of the Infinite.”

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“History is constantly repeating itself, making only such changes of programme as the growth of nations and centuries requires.”

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“Wherever a ship ploughs the sea, or a plough furrows the field; wherever a mine yields its treasure; wherever a ship or a railroad train carries freight to market; wherever the smoke of the furnace rises, or the clang of the loom resounds; even in the lonely garret where the seamstress plies her busy needle--there is industry.”

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“There are some things I am afraid of: I am afraid to do a mean thing.”

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“Monuments may be builded to express the affection or pride of friends, or to display their wealth, but they are only valuable for the characters which they perpetuate.”

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“When the Divine Artist would produce a poem, He plants a germ of it in a human soul, and out of that soul the poem springs and grows as from the rose-tree the rose.”

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