Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Quotes

Powerful Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for Daily Growth

About Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator, widely recognized as the leading figure of the "Fireside Poets," a group of four eminent 19th-century New England poets. Longfellow's life spanned nearly the entire 19th century, and his works reflect the cultural and political climate of the time. Born in Portland, Maine, Longfellow was the son of a successful businessman. His father's premature death when Henry was only eleven left the family financially strained. Despite this, he was able to attend Bowdoin College due to his mother's frugality and scholarships. It was here that Longfellow developed a passion for literature and poetry. After graduating from Bowdoin in 1825, Longfellow pursued further education at German universities before returning to the U.S. to teach at Bowdoin in 1829. He married Mary Potter, his childhood sweetheart, the same year. They would have six children together. Longfellow's first major work, "Voices of the Night," was published in 1835. His most famous works include "The Song of Hiawatha" (1855), a narrative poem about the life of the Native American hero Hiawatha, and "Paul Revere's Ride" (1860). Both poems are enduring classics that capture the spirit and values of America at mid-century. Longfellow faced numerous personal tragedies throughout his life. In 1837, a fire in Cambridge destroyed their home, killing Longfellow's wife and three children. In 1861, his youngest son, Charley, was mortally wounded during the American Civil War. Longfellow's poetry often reflects his deep religious faith and the human struggle for moral perfection. Longfellow served as rector of Harvard University from 1836 to 1854, where he helped establish Harvard's School of Art and Architecture. He died in 1882 at the age of 75, leaving behind a rich legacy of literature that continues to inspire readers today.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Into each life some rain must fall."

The phrase "Into each life some rain must fall" is a poetic way of acknowledging that adversity, hardship, or misfortune (symbolized by rain) is an inevitable part of every human's existence. It serves as a reminder that everyone experiences challenges at some point in their lives and encourages resilience and perseverance during tough times.

"I heard a voice as if in sleep, I heard a voice: 'Lo! The dead are risen up!'"

This quote, penned by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, suggests an awakening or resurrection, not just of the literal dead, but also potentially symbolizing reawakening, revival, or rebirth in a more metaphorical sense. It implies a sudden awareness or realization that something dormant or seemingly dead has regained life and activity, often associated with hope and renewal.

"Let us rather run the risk of living dangersously, than stand on the safe and steady ground, and there become dead in souls already."

This quote suggests that it's better to take risks and live life adventurously than to play it safe and risk becoming stagnant or uninspired. Longfellow encourages us to embrace the unknown, face challenges, and grow as individuals, rather than settling for a mediocre existence in our comfort zones. In other words, he urges us not to let fear of danger or failure hold us back from living life fully and passionately.

"The heights by great men reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward through the night."

This quote highlights that significant achievements are often the result of persistent effort over time, rather than a sudden burst of inspiration or luck. The 'great men' referred to are those who have reached great heights in their field; these peaks were not scaled by leaping into action at a moment's notice but rather through consistent hard work and perseverance, even when others are resting. It encourages us to keep pushing forward, especially during challenging times, as it takes dedication and commitment to make progress towards our goals.

"Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time."

This quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow suggests that the lives of notable individuals serve as examples for us to aspire to greatness in our own lives. He implies that we can elevate our lives beyond the ordinary, achieving a level of significance and impact that transcends our lifetimes. By making positive changes and leaving a lasting impression, we "leave footprints on the sands of time," symbolizing our enduring legacy and contribution to humanity. The quote encourages us to strive for greatness and to live intentionally, leaving a meaningful imprint in the world even after we are gone.

The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Great, Night, Flight, Upward

A torn jacket is soon mended; but hard words bruise the heart of a child.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Words, Torn, Hard Words, Jacket

Method is more important than strength, when you wish to control your enemies. By dropping golden beads near a snake, a crow once managed To have a passer-by kill the snake for the beads.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Strength, More, Method, Dropping

Whoever benefits his enemy with straightforward intention that man's enemies will soon fold their hands in devotion.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Benefits, Straightforward, Fold

Critics are sentinels in the grand army of letters, stationed at the corners of newspapers and reviews, to challenge every new author.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

New, Author, Newspapers, Reviews

As to the pure mind all things are pure, so to the poetic mind all things are poetical.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Mind, Things, Poetic, Poetical

Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Great, Behind, Lives, Departing

It is foolish to pretend that one is fully recovered from a disappointed passion. Such wounds always leave a scar.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Always, Foolish, Wounds, Recovered

The dawn is not distant, nor is the night starless; love is eternal.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Love, Nor, Eternal, Love Is

There is no grief like the grief that does not speak.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sympathy, Like, Does, Grief

The Helicon of too many poets is not a hill crowned with sunshine and visited by the Muses and the Graces, but an old, mouldering house, full of gloom and haunted by ghosts.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sunshine, Old, Many, Haunted

Sometimes we may learn more from a man's errors, than from his virtues.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Learn, May, His, Errors

Resolve and thou art free.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Art, Resolve, Thou Art, Thou

In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Excellence, Character, Style, All Things

Simplicity in character, in manners, in style; in all things the supreme excellence is simplicity.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Excellence, Character, All Things

If we could read the secret history of our enemies we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sad, Could, Read, Disarm

There are moments in life, when the heart is so full of emotion That if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret, Spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered together.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Some, Secret, Shaken, Careless

Men of genius are often dull and inert in society; as the blazing meteor, when it descends to earth, is only a stone.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Often, Meteor, Blazing, Stone

The mind of the scholar, if he would leave it large and liberal, should come in contact with other minds.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Mind, Other, Large, Scholar

A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years mere study of books.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Learning, Wise Man, Study, Conversation

The counterfeit and counterpart of Nature is reproduced in art.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Nature, Art, Counterfeit, Counterpart

The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well, and doing well whatever you do without thought of fame. If it comes at all it will come because it is deserved, not because it is sought after.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Thought, Doing, Success Is, Deserved

Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Life, Voice, Other, Signal

Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Mind, Waves, Reverie, Sit

The greatest firmness is the greatest mercy.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Mercy, Greatest, Firmness

The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Charity, Seeing, Dreaming, Visions

I have an affection for a great city. I feel safe in the neighborhood of man, and enjoy the sweet security of the streets.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

City, Feel, Streets, Great City

Look not mournfully into the past, it comes not back again. Wisely improve the present, it is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future without fear and with a manly heart.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Future, Past, Again, Shadowy

Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Knock, Loud, Sure, Gate

If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Knock, Loud, Sure, Gate

Intelligence and courtesy not always are combined; Often in a wooden house a golden room we find.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Find, Golden, Always, Wooden

There is nothing holier in this life of ours than the first consciousness of love, the first fluttering of its silken wings.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Love, Consciousness, Ours, Fluttering

Not in the clamor of the crowded street, not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Defeat, Triumph, Street, Clamor

Joy, temperance, and repose, slam the door on the doctor's nose.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Doctor, Door, Nose, Slam

Build today, then strong and sure, With a firm and ample base; And ascending and secure. Shall tomorrow find its place.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Strong, Tomorrow, Sure, Base

Man is always more than he can know of himself; consequently, his accomplishments, time and again, will come as a surprise to him.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Surprise, Will, Always, Accomplishments

He that respects himself is safe from others. He wears a coat of mail that none can pierce.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Mail, Himself, Coat, Respects

Fame comes only when deserved, and then is as inevitable as destiny, for it is destiny.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Destiny, Only, Inevitable, Deserved

Something attempted, something done, Has earned a nights repose.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Earned, Nights, Repose, Attempted

Each morning sees some task begun, each evening sees it close; Something attempted, something done, has earned a night's repose.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Morning, Night, Some, Attempted

Like a French poem is life; being only perfect in structure when with the masculine rhymes mingled the feminine are.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Perfect, Like, Rhymes, French

All things must change to something new, to something strange.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Change, New, Things, All Things

All things come round to him who will but wait.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wait, Will, Round, All Things

For age is opportunity no less Than youth itself, though in another dress, And as the evening twilight fades away The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sky, Dress, Away, Evening

It is a beautiful trait in the lover's character, that they think no evil of the object loved.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Beautiful, Character, Think, Trait

Therefore trust to thy heart, and to what the world calls illusions.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Trust, World, Thy, Illusions

Talk not of wasted affection - affection never was wasted.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Never, Talk, Wasted, Affection

The rapture of pursuing is the prize the vanquished gain.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Prize, Rapture, Pursuing, Vanquished

The strength of criticism lies in the weakness of the thing criticized.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Strength, Weakness, Lies, Criticized

Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sad, Which, Every Man, Sorrows

For his heart was in his work, and the heart giveth grace unto every art.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Art, Unto, His, Giveth

If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Aim, Hit, Would, Mark

Love keeps the cold out better than a cloak.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Love, Better, Than, Cloak

Music is the universal language of mankind.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Music, Language, Mankind, Universal

Whenever nature leaves a hole in a person's mind, she generally plasters it over with a thick coat of self-conceit.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Nature, Mind, Over, Thick

That which the fountain sends forth returns again to the fountain.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Fountain, Again, Which, Sends

In this world a man must either be anvil or hammer.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

World, Hammer, Either, Anvil

The nearer the dawn the darker the night.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Night, Dawn, Nearer, Darker

Morality without religion is only a kind of dead reckoning - an endeavor to find our place on a cloudy sea by measuring the distance we have run, but without any observation of the heavenly bodies.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Heavenly Bodies, Measuring, Reckoning

Evil is only good perverted.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Good, Only, Evil

However things may seem, no evil thing is success and no good thing is failure.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Success, May, However, Evil

Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Small Things, Small, Most, Troubled

Love gives itself; it is not bought.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Love, Itself, Bought, Gives

It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Why, Explain, Less Time, Wrong

Let us, then, be up and doing, with a heart for any fate; still achieving, still pursuing, learn to labor and to wait.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Doing, Wait, Still, Labor

When she had passed, it seemed like the ceasing of exquisite music.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Music, She, Seemed, Passed

Thought takes man out of servitude, into freedom.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Freedom, Thought, Servitude, Takes

Ambition is so powerful a passion in the human breast, that however high we reach we are never satisfied.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Never, High, However, Ambition

They who go Feel not the pain of parting; it is they Who stay behind that suffer.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Pain, Behind, Suffer, Stay

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Doing, Capable, Feel, Us

A thought often makes us hotter than a fire.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Thought, Than, Makes, Fire

Into each life some rain must fall.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Life, Rain, Some, Each

Thy fate is the common fate of all; Into each life some rain must fall.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Rain, Fate, Some, Each

Youth comes but once in a lifetime.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Youth, Teen, Once, Lifetime

The human voice is the organ of the soul.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Soul, Voice, Organ, Human

It is difficult to know at what moment love begins; it is less difficult to know that it has begun.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Love, Difficult, Begins, Begun

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Nature, Rain, Raining, Thing

People demand freedom only when they have no power.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Freedom, Power, Only, Demand

The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Stars, Sky, Invisible, Filled

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Love, Education, Serenity, Books

Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Triumph, Ourselves, Defeat

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