We were as twinned lambs that did frisk i' th' sun,
And bleat the one at th' other. What read more

We were as twinned lambs that did frisk i' th' sun,
And bleat the one at th' other. What we changed
Was innocence for innocence; we knew not
The doctrine of ill-doing, nor dreamed
That any did.

The silence often of pure innocence persuades when speaking fails.

The silence often of pure innocence persuades when speaking fails.

An age that melts with unperceiv'd decay,
And glides in modest innocence away.

An age that melts with unperceiv'd decay,
And glides in modest innocence away.

As innocent as a new-laid egg.

As innocent as a new-laid egg.

Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others.

Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others.

What can innocence hope for,
When such as sit her judges are corrupted!

What can innocence hope for,
When such as sit her judges are corrupted!

A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for read more

A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men

We become innocent when we are unfortunate.
[Fr., On devient innocent quand on est malheureux.]

We become innocent when we are unfortunate.
[Fr., On devient innocent quand on est malheureux.]

Know you what it is to be a child? It is to be something very different from the man of read more

Know you what it is to be a child? It is to be something very different from the man of to-day. It is to have a spirit yet streaming from the waters of baptism; it is to believe in love, to believe in loveliness, to believe in belief; it is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, for each child has its fairy godmother in its own soul.