O may I join the choir invisible
Of those immortal dead who live again
In minds made better by their presence; live
In pulses stirred to generosity,
In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn
For miserable aims that end with self.
In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars,
And with their mild persistence urge man's search
To vaster issues.
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So when a great man dies,
For years beyond our ken,
The light he leaves behind him read more
So when a great man dies,
For years beyond our ken,
The light he leaves behind him lies
Upon the paths of men.
If it were in my power, I would be wiser; but a newly felt power
carries me off in read more
If it were in my power, I would be wiser; but a newly felt power
carries me off in spite of myself; love leads me one way, my
understanding another.
[Lat., Si possem sanior essem.
Sed trahit invitam nova vis; aliudque Cupido,
Mens aliud.]
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; they are like the
deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
read more
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; they are like the
deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never
so wisely.
Ah, who could have ever foretold that that little retrousse nose
would change the laws of an empire.
read more
Ah, who could have ever foretold that that little retrousse nose
would change the laws of an empire.
[Fr., Ah, qui jamais autoir pu dire
Que ce petit nez retrousse
Changerait les lois d'un empire.]
My heart is feminine, nor can forget--
To all, except one image, madly blind;
So shakes the read more
My heart is feminine, nor can forget--
To all, except one image, madly blind;
So shakes the needle, and so stands the pole,
As vibrates my fond heart to my fix'd soul.
Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.
Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.
It is easier to influence strong than weak characters in life.
It is easier to influence strong than weak characters in life.
He raised a mortal to the skies;
She drew an angel down.
He raised a mortal to the skies;
She drew an angel down.
There is no such thing as a good influence. Because to influence a person is to give him one's own read more
There is no such thing as a good influence. Because to influence a person is to give him one's own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtures are not real to him. His sins, if there are such thing as sins, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of someone else's music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him.
