James Russell Lowell quotes - page 11

Then to side with Truth is noble when we share her wretched crust, Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and 't is prosperous to be just Then it is the brave man chooses, while the coward stands aside, Doubting in his abject spirit, till his Lord is crucified. (James Russell Lowell)
But life is sweet, though all that makes it sweet Lessen like sound of friends' departing feet And Death is beautiful as feet of friend Coming with welcome at our journey's end. View quote
James Russell Lowell
Who gives himself with his alms feeds three, Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me. View quote
James Russell Lowell
In general those who have nothing to say Contrive to spend the longest time in doing it. View quote
James Russell Lowell
They enslave their childrens children who make compromise with sin. View quote
James Russell Lowell
Aspiration sees only one side of every question possession many. View quote
James Russell Lowell
Get but the truth once uttered, and 'tis like A star new-born that drops into its place And which, once circling in its placid round, Not all the tumult of the earth can shake. View quote
James Russell Lowell
Behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own. View quote
James Russell Lowell
It 'The Ancient Mariner' is marvellous in its mastery over that delightfully fortuitous inconsequence that is the adamantine logic of dreamland. View quote
James Russell Lowell
Is true Freedom but to break Fetters for our own dear sake, And, with leathern hearts, forget That we owe mankind a debt? No! true freedom is to share All the chains our brothers wear, And, with heart and hand, to be Earnest to make others free! View quote
James Russell Lowell
Hast thou chosen, O my people, on whose party thou shalt stand, Ere the Doom from its worn sandals shakes the dust against our land? Though the cause of Evil prosper, yet 'tis Truth alone is strong, And, albeit she wander outcast now, I see around her throng Troops of beautiful, tall angels, to enshield her from all wrong. (James Russell Lowell)
Few people take the trouble of trying to find out what democracy really is. Yet this would be a great help, for it is our lawless and uncertain thoughts, it is the indefiniteness of our impressions, that fill darkness, whether mental or physical, with spectres and hobgoblins. Democracy is nothing more than an experiment in government, more likely to succeed in a new soil, but likely to be tried in all soils, which must stand or fall on its own merits as others have done before it. For there is no trick of perpetual motion in politics any more than in mechanics. View quote
James Russell Lowell
All free governments, whatever their name, are in reality governments by public opinion, and it is on the quality of this public opinion that their prosperity depends. It is, therefore, their first duty to purify the element from which they draw the breath of life. With the growth of democracy grows also the fear, if not the danger, that this atmosphere may be corrupted with poisonous exhalations from lower and more malarious levels, and the question of sanitation becomes more instant and pressing. Democracy in its best sense is merely the letting in of light and air. View quote
James Russell Lowell