First he wrought, and afterward he taught.

First he wrought, and afterward he taught.

Yet ah! why should they know their fate?Since sorrow never comes too late,And happiness too swiftly flies.Thought would destroy their read more

Yet ah! why should they know their fate?Since sorrow never comes too late,And happiness too swiftly flies.Thought would destroy their paradise.No more; where ignorance is bliss,'Tis folly to be wise. - Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College.

A poet is someone who is astonished by everything.

A poet is someone who is astonished by everything.

You, the Spirit of the Settlement! ... Not understand that America is God's crucible, the great melting-pot where all the read more

You, the Spirit of the Settlement! ... Not understand that America is God's crucible, the great melting-pot where all the races of Europe are melting and re-forming! Here, you stand, good folk, think I, when I see them at Ellis Island, here you stand in your fifty groups, with your fifty languages and histories, and your fifty blood hatreds and rivalries... - Melting Pot, The.

We cultivate literature on a little oat-meal.

We cultivate literature on a little oat-meal.

Perish those who said our good things before we did.

Perish those who said our good things before we did.

In books, the proportion of exceptional to commonplace people is very high; in reality, very low.

In books, the proportion of exceptional to commonplace people is very high; in reality, very low.

Truth must necessarily be stranger than fiction, for fiction is the creation of the human mind and therefore congenial to read more

Truth must necessarily be stranger than fiction, for fiction is the creation of the human mind and therefore congenial to it.

Our high respect for a well-read man is praise enough of literature.

Our high respect for a well-read man is praise enough of literature.