Nature

"Thy prayer was "Light—more Light"—while Time shall last Thou sawest a glory growing on the night, But not the shadows which that light would cast, Till shadows vanish in the Light of Light."

"Where God and Nature met in light."

"A remnant of uneasy light."

"The light that never was on sea or land, The consecration, and the poet's dream."

"But ne'er to a seductive lay let faith be given; Nor deem that "light that leads astray" is light from Heaven."

"Life is short, and time is swift; Roses fade, and shadows shift."

"Das Spiel des Lebens sieht sich heiter an, Wenn man den sichern Schatz im Herzen trägt."

"I've lived and loved."

"O'er Ocean, with a thousand masts, sails forth the stripling bold— One boat, hard rescued from the deep, draws into port the old!"

": The May of life blooms once and never again."

"Des Lebens Mai blüht einmal und nicht wieder."

"Wouldst thou wisely, and with pleasure, Pass the days of life's short measure, From the slow one counsel take, But a tool of him ne'er make; Ne'er as friend the swift one know, Nor the constant one as foe."

": Life did not present its sunny side to thee."

"Nicht seine Freudenseite kehrte dir Das Leben zu."

": 'Tis not the mere stage of life but the part we play thereon that gives the value."

"Nicht der Tummelplatz des Lebens—sein Gehalt bestimmt seinen Werth."

": We, we live! ours are the hours, and the living have their claims."

"Wir, wir leben! Unser sind die Stunden Und der Lebende hat Recht."

"Say, what is life? 'Tis to be born, A helpless Babe, to greet the light With a sharp wail, as if the morn Foretold a cloudy noon and night; To weep, to sleep, and weep again, With sunny smiles between; and then?"

": No one has become immortal by sloth; nor has any parent prayed that his children should live forever; but rather that they should lead an honorable and upright life."

"Ignavia nemo immortalis factus: neque quisquam parens liberis, uti æterni forent, optavit; magis, uti boni honestique vitam exigerent."

": The very life which we enjoy is short."

"Vita ipsa qua fruimur brevis est."

"Life's but a span, or a tale, or a word, That in a trice, or suddaine, is rehearsèd."

"This life is but the passage of a day, This life is but a pang and all is over; But in the life to come which fades not away Every love shall abide and every lover."

"In speaking to you men of the greatest city of the West, men of the state which gave to the country Lincoln and Grant, men who preeminently and distinctly embody all that is most American in the American character, I wish to preach not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life."

"I worked for a menial's hire, Only to learn, dismayed, That any wage I had asked of Life, Life would have paid."

"I bargained with Life for a penny, And Life would pay no more, However I begged at evening When I counted my scanty store."

": Only deeds give strength to life, only moderation gives it charm."

"Nur Thaten geben dem Leben Stärke, nur Maas ihm Reiz."

": The Fates and Furies, as well as the Graces and Sirens, glide with linked hands over life."

"Die Parzen und Furien ziehen auch mit verbundnen Händen um das Leben, wie die Grazien und die Sirenen."

": Every man has a rainy corner of his life out of which foul weather proceeds and follows after him."

"Jeder Mensch hat eine Regen-Ecke seines Lebens aus der ihm das schlimme Wetter nachzieht."

": Man has here two and a half minutes—one to smile, one to sigh, and a half to love: for in the midst of this minute he dies."

"Der Mensch hat hier dritthalb Minuten, eine zu lächeln—eine zu seufzen—und eine halbe zu lieben: denn mitten in dieser Minute stirbt er."

"The romance of life begins and ends with two blank pages. Age and extreme old age."

"Man's life is like a Winter's day: Some only breakfast and away; Others to dinner stay and are full fed, The oldest man but sups and goes to bed. Long is his life who lingers out the day, Who goes the soonest has the least to pay; Death is the Waiter, some few run on tick, And some alas! must pay the bill to Nick! Tho' I owed much, I hope long trust is given, And truly mean to pay all bills in Heaven."

"The wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more."

"As for man his days are as grass; as a flower of the field so he flourisheth."

"Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am."

"Half my life is full of sorrow, Half of joy, still fresh and new; One of these lives is a fancy, But the other one is true."

"So vanishes our state; so pass our days; So life but opens now, and now decays; The cradle and the tomb, alas! so nigh, To live is scarce distinguish'd from to die."

"Who breathes must suffer; and who thinks, must mourn; And he alone is bless'd who ne'er was born."

"Amid two seas, on one small point of land, Wearied, uncertain, and amazed we stand."

"Through the sequester'd vale of rural life The venerable patriarch guileless held The tenor of his way."

"Learn to live well, or fairly make your will; You've play'd, and lov'd, and ate, and drank your fill: Walk sober off, before a sprightlier age Comes titt'ring on, and shoves you from the stage."

"She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea, To muse, and spill her solitary tea, Or o'er cold coffee trifle with the spoon, Count the slow clock, and dine exact at noon."

": Nature has given man no better thing than shortness of life."

"Natura, vero nihil hominibus brevitate vitæ præstitit melius."