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Thomas Bailey Aldrich Quotes

Powerful Thomas Bailey Aldrich for Daily Growth

About Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Thomas Bailey Aldrich (June 14, 1836 – November 19, 1907) was an American poet, novelist, and playwright, best known for his evocative portrayals of New England life in the post-Civil War era. Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Aldrich spent much of his youth traveling with his family due to his father's naval career. This nomadic lifestyle provided him with a rich tapestry of experiences that would later inform his writing. Aldrich's literary career began while he was still a teenager, when his first poem was published in the Atlantic Monthly. After attending Harvard University for two years, Aldrich moved to New York City in 1856 to pursue a career as a journalist. During this time, he became involved with the Ticknor and Fields publishing house, where he would later publish many of his works. In 1864, Aldrich published his first collection of poems, "Story-Teller's Tales," which was praised for its vivid imagery and emotional depth. His most famous work, however, is the novel "The Story of a Marching Town" (1869), which depicts the lives of Portsmouth's citizens during the Civil War. The novel is considered a classic of American literature and helped establish Aldrich as one of the leading authors of his time. In 1870, Aldrich co-founded The Atlantic Monthly, where he served as an editor until 1890. During this period, he published some of America's most esteemed writers, including Mark Twain and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Throughout his life, Aldrich was deeply influenced by the beauty of New England and the rich history of its people. His works often reflected a longing for a simpler time, captured in beautiful verse and compelling narrative. Thomas Bailey Aldrich died on November 19, 1907, leaving behind a lasting legacy as one of America's most prominent authors of his era.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Luck is not a matter of chance, but of preparation meeting opportunity."

The quote by Thomas Bailey Aldrich emphasizes that success or good fortune (often referred to as 'luck') is not a mere result of random chance, but rather the product of being adequately prepared when an opportunity arises. In other words, it suggests that one can create their own luck by continually learning, growing, and positioning themselves in such a way that they are ready to seize opportunities as they present themselves.

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do."

This quote emphasizes the importance of passion in achieving greatness. It suggests that to produce exceptional work, one must genuinely care about and enjoy their work, as this emotional investment drives the energy, creativity, and motivation needed for significant contributions. In other words, true greatness is most likely to emerge from a place of love and enthusiasm rather than obligation or reluctance.

"The secret of success is constancy of purpose."

Thomas Bailey Aldrich's quote suggests that consistency in one's purpose or goal is a key factor in achieving success. This means staying dedicated, focused, and persistent in pursuing one's ambitions, even when faced with obstacles or setbacks. It implies that the journey towards success may be long and arduous, but maintaining a steadfast resolve will eventually lead to the desired outcome.

"Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations."

This quote by Thomas Bailey Aldrich emphasizes that a person's character, or moral qualities, plays a crucial role in determining their personal destiny as well as the future of entire nations. In essence, Aldrich suggests that strong, noble characters (integrity, resilience, compassion) lead to positive outcomes for both individuals and societies, while poor character traits may lead to negative consequences. This insight underscores the importance of fostering virtues and moral development in our lives and communities, as these qualities are fundamental to shaping a successful and prosperous future.

"A man's character may be learned from the adverse circumstances under which he succeeds."

This quote suggests that a person's true character can be discerned by observing how they handle adversity or challenges. It implies that success achieved in difficult circumstances indicates resilience, determination, and positive traits like resourcefulness and adaptability, which are often more telling of one's character than the ease with which they attain success under favorable conditions.

A man should have duties outside of himself; without them, he is a mere balloon, inflated with thin egotism and drifting nowhere.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Balloon, Them, Inflated, Drifting

Rome is one enormous mausoleum. There, the Past lies visibly stretched upon his bier. There is no today or tomorrow in Rome; it is perpetual yesterday.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Past, Tomorrow, Rome, Perpetual

What is lovely never dies, But passes into other loveliness.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Sympathy, Lovely, Never, Loveliness

Slavery in New Hampshire was never legally abolished, unless Abraham Lincoln did it. The State itself has not ever pronounced any emancipation edict.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

New, Emancipation, Hampshire, Legally

To live in Portsmouth without possessing a family portrait done by Copley is like living in Boston without having an ancestor in the old Granary Burying-Ground. You can exist, but you cannot be said to flourish.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Boston, Living, Having, Possessing

When Washington visited Portsmouth in 1789, he was not much impressed by the architecture of the little town that had stood by him so stoutly in the struggle for independence.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Town, Impressed, Stood, Little Town

True art selects and paraphrases, but seldom gives a verbatim translation.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Art, Seldom, True Art, Translation

To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful, reverent - that is to triumph over old age.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Age, Over, Reverent, Kindly

In every age have mighty spirits dwelt unseen with man, biding the hour that needed them.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Hour, Needed, Spirits, Mighty

A habit leads a man so gently in the beginning that he does not perceive he is led - with what silken threads and down what pleasant avenues it leads him! By and by, the soft silk threads become iron chains, and the pleasant avenues Avernus!

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Beginning, Chains, Silk, Gently

Daily contact with boys who had not been brought up as gently as I worked an immediate and, in some respects, a beneficial change in my character.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Some, Been, Brought, Gently

What is newest to one in foreign countries is not always the people, but their surroundings, and those same little details of life and circumstance which make no impression on a man in his own land until he returns to it after a prolonged absence, and then they stand out very sharply for a while.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Absence, Very, Sharply, Prolonged

The dead play a very prominent part in the experience of the wanderer abroad. The houses in which they were born, the tombs in which they lie, the localities they made famous by their good or evil deeds, and the works their genius left behind them are necessarily the chief shrines of his pilgrimage.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Play, Behind, Very, Tombs

The man who suspects his own tediousness is yet to be born.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Born, Own, His, Suspects

Everywhere on the Continent, the tourist is looked upon as a bird to be plucked, and presently the bird himself feebly comes to regard plucking as his proper destiny and abjectly holds out his wing so long as there is a feather left on it.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Destiny, Feather, Continent, Wing

I never witness a performance of child-acrobats, or the exhibition of any forced talent, physical or mental, on the part of children, without protesting, at least in my own mind, against the blindness and cruelty of their parents or guardians or whoever has care of them.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Against, Part, Forced, Guardians

Painfully to attain possession of what we do not want, and then painfully to waste our days in attempting to rid ourselves of it, seems to be a part of our discipline here below.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Here, Waste, Attempting, Painfully

Conservatism and respectability have their values, certainly; but has not the unconventional its values also?

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Conservatism, Certainly, Unconventional

Dwellers by the sea are generally superstitious; sailors always are. There is something in the illimitable expanse of sky and water that dilates the imagination.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Sky, Superstitious, Always, Sailors

The burdens of childhood are as hard to bear as the crosses that weigh us down later in life, while the happinesses of childhood are tame compared with those of our maturer years.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Childhood, Weigh, While, Burdens

There is no man at once so unselfish and selfish as a man in love.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Love, Selfish, Once, Unselfish

Famous old houses seem to have an intuitive perception of the value of corner lots. If it is a possible thing, they always set themselves down on the most desirable spots.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Famous, Always, Set, Spots

Everyone ought to wish to marry; some ought to be allowed to marry; and others ought to marry twice - to make the average good.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Wish, Average, Some, Ought

No bird has ever uttered note That was not in some first bird's throat; Since Eden's freshness and man's fall No rose has been original.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Some, Been, Note, Uttered

If you chance to live in a town where the authorities cannot rest until they have destroyed every precious tree within their blighting reach, you will be especially charmed by the beauty of the streets of Portsmouth.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Chance, Rest, Precious, Charmed

A girl does not treat a possible lover with unvarying simplicity and directness. In all its phases, love is complex; friendship is not.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Love, Friendship, Treat, Love Is

The Stamp Act was to go into operation on the first day of November. On the previous morning, the 'New Hampshire Gazette' appeared with a deep black border and all the typographical emblems of affliction, for was not Liberty dead?

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

New, Border, November, Affliction

I like to have a thing suggested rather than told in full. When every detail is given, the mind rests satisfied, and the imagination loses the desire to use its own wings.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Mind, Desire, Given, Suggested

When a man cuts himself absolutely adrift from custom, what an astonishingly light spar floats him! How few his wants are, after all!

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Him, How, Floats, Custom

There must be such a thing as a child with average ability, but you can't find a parent who will admit that it is his child.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Parent, Will, Average, Such A Thing

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