Henry Van Dyke

Love is not getting, but giving, not a wild dream of pleasure, and madness of desire— ... it is goodness, read more

Love is not getting, but giving, not a wild dream of pleasure, and madness of desire— ... it is goodness, and honor, and peace and pure living.

There is such a thing as taking ourselves and the world too seriously, or at any rate too anxiously. Half read more

There is such a thing as taking ourselves and the world too seriously, or at any rate too anxiously. Half of the secular unrest and dismal, profane sadness of modern society comes from the vain idea that every man is bound to be a critic of life, and to let no day pass without finding some fault with the general order of things, or projecting some plan for its general improvement. And the other half comes from the greedy notion that a man's life does consist, after all, in the abundance of things that he possesseth, and that it is, somehow or other, more respectable and pious to be always at work trying to make a larger living, than it is to lie on your back in the green pastures and beside the still waters, and thank God that you are alive.

Use what talent you possess-the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.

Use what talent you possess-the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.

Love is not getting, but giving. Not a wild dream of pleasure and a madness of desire--oh, no--love is not read more

Love is not getting, but giving. Not a wild dream of pleasure and a madness of desire--oh, no--love is not that! It is goodness and honor and peace and pure living Yes, love is that and it is the best thing in the world and the thing that lives the longest.

There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament.

There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament.