This dead of midnight is the noon of thought,
And Wisdom mounts her zenith with the stars.
_A Summer's Evening Meditation._
It is to hope, though hope were lost.[433-2]
_Come here, Fond Youth._
Life! we 've been long together
Through pleasant and through cloudy weather;
'T is hard to part when friends are dear,--
Perhaps 't will cost a sigh, a tear;
Then steal away, give little warning,
Choose thine own time;
Say not "Good night," but in some brighter clime
Bid me "Good morning."
_Life._
So fades a summer cloud away;
So sinks the gale when storms are o'er;
So gently shuts the eye of day;[434-1]
So dies a wave along the shore.
_The Death of the Virtuous._
Child of mortality, whence comest thou? Why is thy countenance
sad, and why are thine eyes red with weeping?
_Hymns in Prose. xiii._
FOOTNOTES:
[433-2] Who against hope believed in hope.--_Romans iv. 18._
Hope against hope, and ask till ye receive.--MONTGOMERY: _The
World before the Flood._
[434-1] See Chaucer, page 6.
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 1743-1826.
The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.
_Summary View of the Rights of British America._
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them
with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the
separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of
nature's God[434-2] entitle them, a decent respect to the
opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes
which impel them to the separation.
_Declaration of Independence._
We hold these truths to be self-evident,--that all men are
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable rights;[434-3] that among these are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
_Declaration of Independence._
We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our
sacred honour.
_Declaration of Independence._
Error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to
combat it.
_First Inaugural Address. March 4, 1801._
Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or
persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest
friendship with all nations,--entangling alliances with none; the
support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most
competent administrations for our domestic concerns, and the
surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies; the
preservation of the general government in its whole
constitutional vigour, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home
and safety abroad; . . . freedom of religion; freedom of the
press; freedom of person under the protection of the habeas
corpus; and trial by juries impartially selected,--these
principles form the bright constellation which has gone before
us, and guided our steps through an age of revolution and
reformation.
_First Inaugural Address. March 4, 1801._
In the full tide of successful experiment.
_First Inaugural Address. March 4, 1801._
Of the various executive abilities, no one excited more anxious
concern than that of placing the interests of our fellow-citizens
in the hands of honest men, with understanding sufficient for
their stations.[435-1] No duty is at the same time more difficult
to fulfil. The knowledge of character possessed by a single
individual is of necessity limited. To seek out the best through
the whole Union, we must resort to the information which from the
best of men, acting disinterestedly and with the purest motives,
is sometimes incorrect.
_Letter to Elias Shipman and others of New Haven, July 12, 1801._
If a due participation of office is a matter of right, how are
vacancies to be obtained? Those by death are few; by resignation,
none.[435-2]
_Letter to Elias Shipman and others of New Haven, July 12, 1801._
When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as
public property.[436-1]
_Life of Jefferson_ (Rayner), _p. 356._
Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.
_Notes on Virginia. Query xviii. Manners._
FOOTNOTES:
[434-2] See Bolingbroke, page 304.
[434-3] All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural,
essential, and unalienable rights.--_Constitution of
Massachusetts._
[435-1] This passage is thus paraphrased by John B. McMaster in
his "History of the People of the United States" (ii. 586): "One
sentence will undoubtedly be remembered till our republic ceases
to exist. 'No duty the Executive had to perform was so trying,' he
observed, 'as to put the right man in the right place.'"
[435-2] Usually quoted, "Few die and none resign."
[436-1] See Appendix, page 859.
JOSIAH QUINCY, JR. 1744-1775.
Blandishments will not fascinate us, nor will threats of a
"halter" intimidate. For, under God, we are determined that
wheresoever, whensoever, or howsoever we shall be called to make
our exit, we will die free men.
_Observations on the Boston Port Bill, 1774._
CHARLES DIBDIN. 1745-1814.
There 's a sweet little cherub that sits up aloft,
To keep watch for the life of poor Jack.
_Poor Jack._
Did you ever hear of Captain Wattle?
He was all for love, and a little for the bottle.
_Captain Wattle and Miss Roe._
His form was of the manliest beauty,
His heart was kind and soft;
Faithful below he did his duty,
But now he 's gone aloft.
_Tom Bowling._
For though his body 's under hatches,
His soul has gone aloft.
_Tom Bowling._
Spanking Jack was so comely, so pleasant, so jolly,
Though winds blew great guns, still he 'd whistle and sing;
Jack loved his friend, and was true to his Molly,
And if honour gives greatness, was great as a king.
_The Sailor's Consolation._[436-2]
FOOTNOTES:
[436-2] A song with this title, beginning, "One night came on a
hurricane," was written by William Pitt, of Malta, who died in
1840.
HANNAH MORE. 1745-1833.
To those who know thee not, no words can paint!
And those who know thee, know all words are faint!
_Sensibility._
Since trifles make the sum of human things,
And half our misery from our foibles springs.
_Sensibility._
In men this blunder still you find,--
All think their little set mankind.
_Florio. Part i._
Small habits well pursued betimes
May reach the dignity of crimes.
_Florio. Part i._
LORD STOWELL. 1745-1836.
A dinner lubricates business.
_Life of Johnson_ (Boswell). _Vol. viii. p. 67, note._
The elegant simplicity of the three per cents.[437-1]
_Lives of the Lord Chancellors_ (Campbell). _Vol. x. Chap. 212._
FOOTNOTES:
[437-1] The sweet simplicity of the three per cents.--DISRAELI
(Earl Beaconsfield): _Endymion._
SIR WILLIAM JONES. 1746-1794.
Than all Bocara's vaunted gold,
Than all the gems of Samarcand.
_A Persian Song of Hafiz._
Go boldly forth, my simple lay,
Whose accents flow with artless ease,
Like orient pearls at random strung.[437-2]
_A Persian Song of Hafiz._
On parent knees, a naked new-born child,
Weeping thou sat'st while all around thee smiled;
So live, that sinking in thy last long sleep,
Calm thou mayst smile, while all around thee weep.
_From the Persian._
What constitutes a state?
. . . . . . .
Men who their duties know,
But know their rights, and knowing, dare maintain.
. . . . . . .
And sovereign law, that state's collected will,
O'er thrones and globes elate,
Sits empress, crowning good, repressing ill.[438-1]
_Ode in Imitation of Alcæus._
Seven hours to law, to soothing slumber seven,
Ten to the world allot, and all to heaven.[438-2]
FOOTNOTES:
[437-2]
'T was he that ranged the words at random flung,
Pierced the fair pearls and them together strung.
EASTWICK: _Anvari Suhaili._ (Translated from Firdousi.)
[438-1] Neither walls, theatres, porches, nor senseless equipage,
make states, but men who are able to rely upon
themselves.--ARISTIDES: _Orations_ (Jebb's edition), _vol. i._
(trans. by A. W. Austin).
By Themistocles alone, or with very few others, does this saying
appear to be approved, which, though Alcæus formerly had produced,
many afterwards claimed: "Not stones, nor wood, nor the art of
artisans, make a state; but where men are who know how to take
care of themselves, these are cities and walls."--_Ibid. vol. ii._
[438-2] See Coke, page 24.
JOHN LOGAN. 1748-1788.
Thou hast no sorrow in thy song,
No winter in thy year.
_To the Cuckoo._
Oh could I fly, I 'd fly with thee!
We 'd make with joyful wing
Our annual visit o'er the globe,
Companions of the spring.
_To the Cuckoo._
JONATHAN M. SEWALL. 1748-1808.
No pent-up Utica contracts your powers,
But the whole boundless continent is yours.
_Epilogue to Cato._[439-1]
FOOTNOTES:
[439-1] Written for the Bow Street Theatre, Portsmouth, New
Hampshire.
JOHN EDWIN. 1749-1790.
A man's ingress into the world is naked and bare,
His progress through the world is trouble and care;
And lastly, his egress out of the world, is nobody knows where.
If we do well here, we shall do well there:
I can tell you no more if I preach a whole year.[439-2]
_The Eccentricities of John Edwin_ (second edition), _vol. i. p. 74.
London, 1791._
FOOTNOTES:
[439-2] These lines Edwin offers as heads of a "sermon."
Longfellow places them in the mouth of "The Cobbler of Hagenau,"
as a "familiar tune." See "The Wayside Inn, part ii. The Student's
Tale."
JOHN TRUMBULL. 1750-1831.
But optics sharp it needs, I ween,
To see what is not to be seen.
_M^cFingal. Canto i. Line 67._
But as some muskets so contrive it
As oft to miss the mark they drive at,
And though well aimed at duck or plover,
Bear wide, and kick their owners over.
_M^cFingal. Canto i. Line 93._
As though there were a tie
And obligation to posterity.
We get them, bear them, breed, and nurse:
What has posterity done for us
That we, lest they their rights should lose,
Should trust our necks to gripe of noose?
_M^cFingal. Canto ii. Line 121._
No man e'er felt the halter draw,
With good opinion of the law.
_M^cFingal. Canto iii. Line 489._
RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. 1751-1816.
Illiterate him, I say, quite from your memory.
_The Rivals. Act i. Sc. 2._
'T is safest in matrimony to begin with a little aversion.
_The Rivals. Act i. Sc. 2._
A progeny of learning.
_The Rivals. Act i. Sc. 2._
A circulating library in a town is as an evergreen tree of
diabolical knowledge.
_The Rivals. Act iii. Sc. 1._
He is the very pine-apple of politeness!
_The Rivals. Act iii. Sc. 3._
If I reprehend anything in this world, it is the use of my
oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!
_The Rivals. Act iii. Sc. 3._
As headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile.
_The Rivals. Act iii. Sc. 3._
Too civil by half.
_The Rivals. Act iii. Sc. 4._
Our ancestors are very good kind of folks; but they are the last
people I should choose to have a visiting acquaintance with.
_The Rivals. Act iv. Sc. 1._
No caparisons, miss, if you please. Caparisons don't become a
young woman.
_The Rivals. Act iv. Sc. 2._
We will not anticipate the past; so mind, young people,--our
retrospection will be all to the future.
_The Rivals. Act iv. Sc. 2._
You are not like Cerberus, three gentlemen at once, are you?
_The Rivals. Act iv. Sc. 2._
The quarrel is a very pretty quarrel as it stands; we should only
spoil it by trying to explain it.
_The Rivals. Act iv. Sc. 3._
You 're our enemy; lead the way, and we 'll precede.
_The Rivals. Act v. Sc. 1._
There 's nothing like being used to a thing.[441-1]
_The Rivals. Act v. Sc. 3._
As there are three of us come on purpose for the game, you won't
be so cantankerous as to spoil the party by sitting out.
_The Rivals. Act v. Sc. 3._
My valour is certainly going! it is sneaking off! I feel it
oozing out, as it were, at the palm of my hands!
_The Rivals. Act v. Sc. 3._
I own the soft impeachment.
_The Rivals. Act v. Sc. 3._
Steal! to be sure they may; and, egad, serve your best thoughts
as gypsies do stolen children,--disfigure them to make 'em pass
for their own.[441-2]
_The Critic. Act i. Sc. 1._
The newspapers! Sir, they are the most villanous, licentious,
abominable, infernal-- Not that I ever read them! No, I make it a
rule never to look into a newspaper.
_The Critic. Act i. Sc. 2._
Egad, I think the interpreter is the hardest to be understood of
the two!
_The Critic. Act i. Sc. 2._
Sheer necessity,--the proper parent of an art so nearly allied to
invention.
_The Critic. Act i. Sc. 2._
No scandal about Queen Elizabeth, I hope?
_The Critic. Act ii. Sc. 1._
Certainly nothing is unnatural that is not physically impossible.
_The Critic. Act ii. Sc. 1._
Where they _do_ agree on the stage, their unanimity is wonderful.
_The Critic. Act ii. Sc. 2._
Inconsolable to the minuet in Ariadne.
_The Critic. Act ii. Sc. 2._
The Spanish fleet thou canst not see, because--it is not yet in
sight!
_The Critic. Act ii. Sc. 2._
An oyster may be crossed in love.
_The Critic. Act iii. Sc. 1._
You shall see them on a beautiful quarto page, where a neat
rivulet of text shall meander through a meadow of margin.
_School for Scandal. Act i. Sc. 1._
Here is the whole set! a character dead at every word.
_School for Scandal. Act ii. Sc. 2._
I leave my character behind me.
_School for Scandal. Act ii. Sc. 2._
Here 's to the maiden of bashful fifteen;
Here 's to the widow of fifty;
Here 's to the flaunting, extravagant quean,
And here 's to the housewife that 's thrifty!
Let the toast pass;
Drink to the lass;
I 'll warrant she 'll prove an excuse for the glass.
_School for Scandal. Act iii. Sc. 3._
An unforgiving eye, and a damned disinheriting countenance.
_School for Scandal. Act v. Sc. 1._
It was an amiable weakness.[442-1]
_School for Scandal. Act v. Sc. 1._
I ne'er could any lustre see
In eyes that would not look on me;
I ne'er saw nectar on a lip
But where my own did hope to sip.
_The Duenna. Act i. Sc. 2._
Had I a heart for falsehood framed,
I ne'er could injure you.
_The Duenna. Act i. Sc. 5._
Conscience has no more to do with gallantry than it has with
politics.
_The Duenna. Act ii. Sc. 4._
While his off-heel, insidiously aside.
Provokes the caper which he seems to chide.
_Pizarro. The Prologue._
Such protection as vultures give to lambs.
_Pizarro. Act ii. Sc. 2._
A life spent worthily should be measured by a nobler line,--by
deeds, not years.[443-1]
_Pizarro. Act iv. Sc. 1._
The Right Honorable gentleman is indebted to his memory for his
jests, and to his imagination for his facts.[443-2]
_Speech in Reply to Mr. Dundas. Sheridaniana._
You write with ease to show your breeding,
But easy writing 's curst hard reading.
_Clio's Protest. Life of Sheridan_ (Moore). _Vol. i. p. 155._
FOOTNOTES:
[441-1] 'T is nothing when you are used to it.--SWIFT: _Polite
Conversation, iii._
[441-2] See Churchill, page 413.
[442-1] See Fielding, page 364.
[443-1]
He who grown aged in this world of woe,
In deeds, not years, piercing the depths of life,
So that no wonder waits him.
BYRON: _Childe Harold, canto iii. stanza 5._
We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths.--BAILEY:
_Festus. A Country Town._
Who well lives, long lives; for this age of ours
Should not be numbered by years, daies, and hours.
DU BARTAS: _Days and Weekes. Fourth Day. Book ii._
[443-2] On peut dire que son esprit brille aux dépens de sa
mémoire (One may say that his wit shines by the help of his
memory).--LE SAGE: _Gil Blas, livre iii. chap. xi._
PHILIP FRENEAU. 1752-1832.
The hunter and the deer a shade.[443-3]
_The Indian Burying-Ground._
Then rushed to meet the insulting foe;
They took the spear, but left the shield.[443-4]
_To the Memory of the Americans who fell at Eutaw._
FOOTNOTES:
[443-3] This line was appropriated by Campbell in "O'Connor's
Child."
[443-4]
When Prussia hurried to the field,
And snatched the spear, but left the shield.
SCOTT: _Marmion, Introduction to canto iii._
GEORGE CRABBE. 1754-1832.
Oh, rather give me commentators plain,
Who with no deep researches vex the brain;
Who from the dark and doubtful love to run,
And hold their glimmering tapers to the sun.[443-5]
_The Parish Register. Part i. Introduction._
Her air, her manners, all who saw admir'd;
Courteous though coy, and gentle though retir'd;
The joy of youth and health her eyes display'd,
And ease of heart her every look convey'd.
_The Parish Register. Part ii. Marriages._
In this fool's paradise he drank delight.[444-1]
_The Borough. Letter xii. Players._
Books cannot always please, however good;
Minds are not ever craving for their food.
_The Borough. Letter xxiv. Schools._
In idle wishes fools supinely stay;
Be there a will, and wisdom finds a way.
_The Birth of Flattery._
Cut and come again.
_Tales. Tale vii. The Widow's Tale._
Better to love amiss than nothing to have loved.[444-2]
_Tales. Tale xiv. The Struggles of Conscience._
But 't was a maxim he had often tried,
That right was right, and there he would abide.[444-3]
_Tales. Tale xv. The Squire and the Priest._
'T was good advice, and meant, my son, Be good.
_Tales. Tale xxi. The Learned Boy._
He tried the luxury of doing good.[444-4]
_Tales of the Hall. Book iii. Boys at School._
To sigh, yet not recede; to grieve, yet not repent.[444-5]
_Tales of the Hall. Book iii. Boys at School._
And took for truth the test of ridicule.[444-6]
_Tales of the Hall. Book viii. The Sisters._
Time has touched me gently in his race,
And left no odious furrows in my face.[445-1]
_Tales of the Hall. Book xvii. The Widow._
FOOTNOTES:
[443-5] See Young, page 311.
[444-1] See Appendix, page 858.
[444-2]
'T is better to have loved and lost,
Than never to have loved at all.
TENNYSON: _In Memoriam, xxvii._
[444-3] For right is right, since God is God.--FABER: _The Right
must win._
[444-4] See Goldsmith, page 394.
[444-5] To sigh, yet feel no pain.--MOORE: _The Blue Stocking._
[444-6] See Appendix, page 394.
[445-1] Touch us gently, Time.--B. W. PROCTER: _Touch us gently,
Time._
Time has laid his hand
Upon my heart, gently.
LONGFELLOW: _The Golden Legend, iv._
GEORGE BARRINGTON. 1755- ----.
True patriots all; for be it understood
We left our country for our country's good.[445-2]
_Prologue written for the Opening of the Play-house at New South Wales,
Jan. 16, 1796._
FOOTNOTES:
[445-2] See Farquhar, page 305.
HENRY LEE. 1756-1816.
To the memory of the Man, first in war, first in peace, and first
in the hearts of his countrymen.
_Memoirs of Lee. Eulogy on Washington, Dec. 26, 1799._[445-3]
FOOTNOTES:
[445-3] To the memory of the Man, first in war, first in peace,
and first in the hearts of his fellow-citizens.--_Resolutions
presented to the United States' House of Representatives, on the
Death of Washington, December, 1799._
The eulogy was delivered a week later. Marshall, in his "Life of
Washington," vol. v. p. 767, says in a note that these resolutions
were prepared by Colonel Henry Lee, who was then not in his place
to read them. General Robert E. Lee, in the Life of his father
(1869), prefixed to the Report of his father's "Memoirs of the War
of the Revolution," gives (p. 5) the expression "fellow-citizens;"
but on p. 52 he says: "But there is a line, a single line, in the
Works of Lee which would hand him over to immortality, though he
had never written another: 'First in war, first in peace, and
first in the hearts of his countrymen' will last while language
lasts."
J. P. KEMBLE. 1757-1823.
Perhaps it was right to dissemble your love,
But--why did you kick me down stairs?[445-4]
_The Panel. Act i. Sc. 1._
FOOTNOTES:
[445-4] Altered from Bickerstaff's "'T is Well 't is no Worse."
The lines are also found in Debrett's "Asylum for Fugitive
Pieces," vol. i. p. 15.
HORATIO NELSON. 1758-1805.
In the battle off Cape St. Vincent, Nelson gave orders for
boarding the "San Josef," exclaiming "Westminster Abbey, or
victory!"
_Life of Nelson_ (Southey). _Vol. i. p. 93._
England expects every man to do his duty.[446-1]
_Life of Nelson_ (Southey). _Vol. ii. p. 131._
FOOTNOTES:
[446-1] This famous sentence is thus first reported: "Say to the
fleet, England confides that every man will do his duty." Captain
Pasco, Nelson's flag-lieutenant, suggested to substitute "expects"
for "confides," which was adopted. Captain Blackwood, who
commanded the "Euryalis," says that the correction suggested was
from "Nelson expects" to "England expects."
ROBERT BURNS. 1759-1796.
Auld Nature swears the lovely dears
Her noblest work she classes, O;
Her 'prentice han' she tried on man,
And then she made the lasses, O![446-2]
_Green grow the Rashes._
Some books are lies frae end to end.
_Death and Dr. Hornbook._
Some wee short hours ayont the twal.
_Death and Dr. Hornbook._
The best laid schemes o' mice and men
Gang aft a-gley;
And leave us naught but grief and pain
For promised joy.
_To a Mouse._
When chill November's surly blast
Made fields and forests bare.
_Man was made to Mourn._
Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn.
_Man was made to Mourn._
Gars auld claes look amaist as weel 's the new.
_The Cotter's Saturday Night._
Beneath the milk-white thorn that scents the evening gale.
_The Cotter's Saturday Night._
He wales a portion with judicious care;
And "Let us worship God," he says with solemn air.
_The Cotter's Saturday Night._
Perhaps Dundee's wild-warbling measures rise,
Or plaintive Martyrs, worthy of the name.
_The Cotter's Saturday Night._
From scenes like these old Scotia's grandeur springs,
That makes her loved at home, revered abroad:
Princes and lords are but the breath of kings,
"An honest man 's the noblest work of God."[447-1]
_The Cotter's Saturday Night._
For a' that, and a' that,
And twice as muckle 's a' that.
_The Jolly Beggars._
O Life! how pleasant is thy morning,
Young Fancy's rays the hills adorning!
Cold-pausing Caution's lesson scorning,
We frisk away,
Like schoolboys at th' expected warning,
To joy and play.
_Epistle to James Smith._
Misled by fancy's meteor ray,
By passion driven;
But yet the light that led astray
Was light from heaven.
_The Vision._
And like a passing thought, she fled
In light away.
_The Vision._
Affliction's sons are brothers in distress;
A brother to relieve,--how exquisite the bliss!
_A Winter Night._
His locked, lettered, braw brass collar
Showed him the gentleman and scholar.
_The Twa Dogs._
And there began a lang digression
About the lords o' the creation.
_The Twa Dogs._
Oh wad some power the giftie gie us
To see oursel's as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
And foolish notion.
_To a Louse._
Then gently scan your brother man,
Still gentler sister woman;
Though they may gang a kennin' wrang,
To step aside is human.[448-1]
_Address to the Unco Guid._
What 's done we partly may compute,
But know not what 's resisted.
_Address to the Unco Guid._
Stern Ruin's ploughshare drives elate
Full on thy bloom.[448-2]
_To a Mountain Daisy._
O life! thou art a galling load,
Along a rough, a weary road,
To wretches such as I!
_Despondency._
Perhaps it may turn out a sang,
Perhaps turn out a sermon.
_Epistle to a Young Friend._
I waive the quantum o' the sin,
The hazard of concealing;
But, och! it hardens a' within,
And petrifies the feeling!
_Epistle to a Young Friend._
The fear o' hell 's a hangman's whip
To haud the wretch in order;[448-3]
But where ye feel your honour grip,
Let that aye be your border.
_Epistle to a Young Friend._
An atheist's laugh 's a poor exchange
For Deity offended!
_Epistle to a Young Friend._
And may you better reck the rede,[448-4]
Than ever did the adviser!
_Epistle to a Young Friend._
Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes;
Flow gently, I 'll sing thee a song in thy praise.
_Flow gently, sweet Afton._
Oh whistle, and I 'll come to ye, my lad.[449-1]
_Whistle, and I 'll come to ye._
If naebody care for me,
I 'll care for naebody.[449-2]
_I hae a Wife o' my Ain._
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne?
_Auld Lang Syne._
We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu'd the gowans fine.
_Auld Lang Syne._
Dweller in yon dungeon dark,
Hangman of creation, mark!
Who in widow weeds appears,
Laden with unhonoured years,
Noosing with care a bursting purse,
Baited with many a deadly curse?
_Ode on Mrs. Oswald._
To make a happy fireside clime
To weans and wife,--
That 's the true pathos and sublime
Of human life.
_Epistle to Dr. Blacklock._