Top quotes by Henry Van Dyke

Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love, to work, to play, and to look up at the stars. Votes: 34

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. Votes: 31

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity. Votes: 31

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. Votes: 23

Half of the secular unrest and dismal, profane sadness of modern society comes from the vain ideas that every man is bound to be a critic for life. Votes: 20

To desire and strive to be of some service to the world, to aim at doing something which shall really increase the happiness and welfare and virtue of mankind - this is a choice which is possible for all of us; and surely it is a good haven to sail for. Votes: 19

In the progress of personality, first comes a declaration of independence, then a recognition of interdependence. Votes: 19

Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best. Votes: 17

As long as habit and routine dictate the pattern of living, new dimensions of the soul will not emerge. Votes: 15

Look around for a place to sow a few seeds. Votes: 14

What you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are will be yours forever. Votes: 14

Many a treasure besides Ali Baba's is unlocked with a verbal key. Votes: 12

O' who will walk with me along lifes merry way? A comrade blithe and full of glee, who dares to laugh out loud and free... Votes: 12

There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament. Votes: 11

Favorite People, Favorite Places, Favorite Memories of the past ... These are the joys of a lifetime Those are the things that last Votes: 11

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, God of glory, Lord of Love; Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, vale and mountain, Flowery meadow, flashing sea, Chanting bird and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee. Votes: 8

Deeds not Words: I say so too! And yet I find it somehow true, A word may help a man in need, To nobler act and braver deed. Votes: 8

Every house where love abides And friendship is a guest, Is surely home, and home sweet home For there the heart can rest. Votes: 7

If all the skies were sunshine Our faces would be fain To feel once more upon them The cooling splash of rain. If all the world were music, Our hearts would often long For one sweet strain of silence, To break the endless song If life were always merry, Our souls would seek relief, And rest from weary laughter In the quiet arms of grief. Votes: 5

Not to the swift, the race: Not to the strong, the fight: Not to the righteous, perfect grace: Not to the wise, the light. But often faltering feet Come surest to the goal; And they who walk in darkness meet The sunrise of the soul. Votes: 5

Like water spilt upon the ground--alas, Our little lives flow swiftly on and pass; Yet may they bring rich harvests and green grass! Votes: 5

A peace that depends on fear is nothing but a suppressed war. Votes: 4

There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher. Votes: 3

Subjection to fear is weakness, bondage, feverish unrest. To be afraid is to have no soul that we can call our own; it is to be at the beck and call of alien powers, to be chained and driven and tormented; it is to lose the life itself in the anxious care to keep it. Votes: 3

Love is not about getting - but giving. Votes: 2

In warlike pomp, with banners flowing, The regiments of autumn stood: I saw their gold and scarlet glowing From every hillside, every wood. Votes: 2

A flawless cup: how delicate and fine The flowing curve of every jewelled line! Look, turn it up or down, 'tis perfect still-- But holds no drop of life's heart-warming wine. Votes: 2

There are many kinds of love, as many kinds of light, And every kind of love makes a glory in the night. There is love that stirs the heart, and love that gives it rest, But the love that leads life upward is the noblest and the best. Votes: 2

Natural beauty and wonder are priceless heirlooms which God has bestowed upon our nation. How shall we escape the contempt of the coming generation if we suffer this irreplaceable heritage to be wasted? Votes: 2

Half of the secular unrest and dismal, profane sadness of modern society comes from the vain ideas that every man is bound to be a critic for life." Votes: 1

The lintel low enough to keep out pomp and pride; The threshold high enough to turn deceit aside; The doorband strong enough from robbers to defend; This door will open at a touch to welcome every friend. Votes: 0

The simple life which blandly ignores all care and conflict, soon becomes flabby and invertebrate, sentimental and gelatinous. Votes: 0

Happiness is inward, and not outward; and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are. Votes: 0

The birth of Jesus is the sunrise in the Bible. Votes: 0

Who can explain the secret pathos of Nature's loveliness? It is a touch of melancholy inherited from our mother Eve. It is an unconscious memory of the lost Paradise. It is the sense that even if we should find another Eden, we would not be fit to enjoy it perfectly nor stay in it forever. Votes: 0

Let me but find it in my heart to say, When vagrant wishes beckon me astray, "This is my work; my blessing, not my doom; Of all who live, I am the one by whom This work can best be done in the right way." Votes: 0

A tear that trembles for a little while Upon the trembling eyelid, till the world Wavers within its circle like a dream, Holds more of meaning in its narrow orb Than all the distant landscape that it blurs. Votes: 0

Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul. Votes: 0

I heard through the nightThe rush and the clamour;The pulse of the fightLike blows of Thor's hammer;The pattering flightOf the leaves, and the anguishedMoan of the forest vanquished. Votes: 0

The best rose-bush, after all, is not that which has the fewest thorns, but that which bears the finest roses. Votes: 0

Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live. Votes: 0

The woods would be quiet if no bird sang but the one that sang best. Votes: 0

He that planteth a tree is a servant of God, he provideth a kindness for many generations, and faces that he hath not seen shall bless him. Votes: 0

Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars. Votes: 0

These are the things I prize And hold of dearest worth: Light of the sapphire skies, Peace of the silent hills, Shelter of the forests, comfort of the grass, Music of birds, murmur of little rills, Shadows of cloud that swiftly pass, And, after showers, The smell of flowers And of the good brown earth,- And best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth. Votes: 0

Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to. Votes: 0

Tact is the unsaid part of what you think. Votes: 0

Heaven is blessed with perfect rest but the blessing of earth is toil. Votes: 0

Oh, London is a man's town, there's power in the air; And Paris is a woman's town, with flowers in her hair; And it's sweet to dream in Venice, and it's great to study Rome; But when it comes to living, there is no place like home. Votes: 0

Thou warden of the western gate, above Manhattan Bay, The fogs of doubt that hid thy face are driven clean away: Thine eyes at last look far and clear, thou liftest high thy hand To spread the light of liberty world-wide for every land. Votes: 0

I shall grow old, but never lose life's zest, because the road's last turn will be the best. Votes: 0

It is with rivers as it is with people: the greatest are not always the most agreeable nor the best to live with. Votes: 0

There is only one way to get ready for immortality, and that is to love this life and live it as bravely and faithfully and cheerfully as we can. Votes: 0

Genius is talent set on fire by courage. Votes: 0

Love is the best thing in the world, and the thing that lives the longest. Votes: 0

A friend is what the heart needs all the time. Votes: 0

There are two good rules which ought to be written on every heart - never to believe anything bad about anybody unless you positively know it to be true; never to tell even that unless you feel that it is absolutely necessary, and that God is listening. Votes: 0

What we do belongs to what we are; and what we are is what becomes of us. Votes: 0

A clean and sensitive conscience, a steady and scrupulous integrity in small things as well as large, is the most valuable of all possessions, to a nation as to an individual. Votes: 0

A little while the rose, And after that the thorn; An hour of dewy morn, And then the glamour goes. Ah, love in beauty born, A little while the rose! Votes: 0

A peaceful man must fight For that which peace demands,— Freedom and faith, honor and right, Defend with heart and hands. Votes: 0

A river is the most human and companionable of all inanimate things. It has a life, a character, a voice of its own; and it is as full of good fellowship as a sugar maple is of sap. It can talk in various tones, loud or low, and of many subjects grave and gay.... For real company and friendship there is nothing, outside of the animal kingdom, that is comparable to a river. Votes: 0

Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you ... to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old ... Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest ting in the world ... stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death... Then you can keep Christmas! But you can never keep it alone. Votes: 0

be glαd of life, becαuse it gives you the chαnce to love αnd to work αnd to plαy αnd to look up αt the stαrs; to be sαtisfied with your posessions, to despise nothing in the world except fαlsehood αnd meαnness αnd to feαr nothing except cowαrdice; to be governed by your αdmirαtions rαther thαn by your disgusts, to covet nothing thαt is your neighbour's except his kindness of heαrt αnd gentleness of mαnners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends and to spend αs much time αs you cαn with body αnd with spirit. Votes: 0

Be grateful for the tiny details of your life and make room for unexpected and beautiful blessings. Votes: 0

But this I know. Those who seek Him will do well to look among the poor and the lowly, the sorrowful and the oppressed. Votes: 0

Christ never asks us to give up merely for the sake of giving up, but always in order to win something better. Votes: 0

Come, my friend, forget your foes, and leave your fears behind, And wander forth to try your luck, with cheerful, quiet mind; For be your fortune great or small, you take what God will give, And all the day your heart will say, "'Tis luck enough to live. Votes: 0

Count not the cost of honour to the dead!The tribute that a mighty nation paysTo those who loved her well in former daysMeans more than gratitude for glories fled;For every noble man that she hath bred,Lives in the bronze and marble that we raise,Immortalised by art's immortal praise,To lead our sons as he our fathers led. Votes: 0

Courage is the standing army of the soul which keeps it from conquest, pillage, and slavery. Votes: 0

Culture is the habit of being pleased with the best and knowing why. Votes: 0

Death comes in its own time, in its own way.Death is as unique as the individual experiencing it. Votes: 0

Ere thou sleepest, gently lay Every troubled thought away; Put off worry and distress As thou puttest off thy dress; Drop thy burden and thy care In the quiet arms of prayer. Lord thou knowest how I live, All I'VE DONE AMISS FORGIVE; ALL OF GOOD I'VE TRIED TO DO STRENGTHEN, bless and carry through; All I love in safety keep While in Thee I fall asleep. Votes: 0

Even if we should find another Eden, we would not be fit to enjoy it perfectly nor stay in it forever. Votes: 0

Every country-or at least every country that is fit for habitation-has its own rivers; and every river has its own quality; and it is the part of wisdom to know and love as many as you can, seeing each in the fairest possible light, and receiving from each the best that it has to give. Votes: 0

Faith is an adventure; it is the courage of the soul to face the unknown. But that courage springs from the hope and confidence of the soul that its adventure will succeed. Votes: 0

Fidelity is simply daring to be true in small things as well as great. Votes: 0

Flowers rejoice when night is done, Lift their heads to greet the sun; Sweetest looks and odours raise, In a silent hymn of praise. Votes: 0

For ever so our thoughtful hearts repeatOn fields of triumph dirges of defeat;And still we turn on gala-days to treadAmong the rustling memories of the dead. Votes: 0

For real company and friendship, there is nothing outside the animal kingdom that is comparable to a river. Votes: 0

For those who love... time is eternity... Votes: 0

Four things a man must learn to do If he would make his record true; To think without confusion clearly; To love his fellowmen sincerely; To act from honest motives purely; To trust in God and Heav'n securely. Votes: 0

Gratitude is a two fold love - love coming to visit us, and love running out to greet a welcome guest. Votes: 0

He that planteth a tree ...provideth a kindness for many generations. Votes: 0

Heaven often seems distant and unknown, but if He who made the road... is our guide, we need not fear to lose the way. Votes: 0

Hours fly, Flowers die: New days, New ways: Pass by! Love stays. Votes: 0

How fascinating is death, the extinction of life. One moment here and the next gone. The light put out and only the empty bag of the body left. Votes: 0

Hymns of today that may be sung by people who know the thought of the age...are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy Christianity, or any revolution will overthrow the Kingdom of Heaven. Votes: 0

I know that Europe's wonderful, yet something seems to lack;The Past is too much with her, and the people looking back. Votes: 0

I thank God for the honesty and virility of Jesus religion which makes us face the facts and calls us to take a man's part in the real battle of life. Votes: 0

If all the world were music, Our hearts would often long For one sweet strain of silence. To break the endless song. Votes: 0

If only the best birds sang, the forest would be silent. Votes: 0

I'm only wishing to go a-fishing;For this the month of May was made. Votes: 0

It is better to burn the candle at both ends, and in the middle, too, than to put it away in the closet and let the mice eat it. Votes: 0

It is better to desire the things we have than to have the things we desire. Votes: 0

It is better to follow even the shadow of the best, than to remain content with the worst. Votes: 0

Jazz: Music invented for the torture of imbeciles. Votes: 0

Life is an arrow, therefore you must know What mark to aim at, how to use the bow-- Then draw it to the head and let it go! Votes: 0

Long ago Apollo called to Aristæus, youngest of the shepherds, Saying, "I will make you keeper of my bees." Golden were the hives, and golden was the honey; golden, too, the music, Where the honey-makers hummed among the trees. Votes: 0

Lord, when my spirit shall return to thee, At the foot of a friendly tree let my body be buried, That this dust may rise and rejoice among the branches. Votes: 0

Love is not getting, but giving. Not a wild dream of pleasure and 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.... Votes: 0

Love is not getting, but giving; It is goodness, and honor, and peace and pure living. Votes: 0

Love is the heart s immortal thirst to be completely known and all forgiven. Votes: 0

Love that leads life upward is the noblest and the best. Votes: 0

Man said, "I am tired of kings! Sons of the robber-chiefs of yore, They make me pay for their lust and their war; I am the puppet, they pull the strings; The blood of my heart is the wine they drink. I will govern myself for awhile I think, And see what that brings! Votes: 0

Memory is a capricious and arbitrary creature. You never can tell what pebble she will pick up from the shore of life to keep among her treasures, or what inconspicuous flower of the field she will preserve as the symbol of "thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears." . . . And yet I do not doubt that the most Important things are always the best remembered. Votes: 0

Modest egotism is the salt of conversation; you do not want too much of it, but if it is altogether omitted, everything tastes flat. Votes: 0

No amount of energy will take the place of thought. Votes: 0

No amount of energy will take the place of thought. A strenuous life with its eyes shut is a kind of wild insanity. Votes: 0

No matter what theory of the origin of government you adopt, if you follow it out to its legitimate conclusions it will bring you face to face with the moral law. Votes: 0

Of all the things that man has made, no is so full of interest and charm, none possesses so distinct a life and character of its own, as a ship. Votes: 0

Oh, it's home again and home again, America for me! I want a ship that's westward bound to plough the rolling sea To the blessed land of Room Enough beyond the ocean bars, Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars. Votes: 0

One truly affectionate soul in a family will evert a sweetening and harmonizing influence upon all its members. Votes: 0

Peace without Justice is a low estate,— A coward cringing to an iron Fate! But Peace through Justice is the great ideal,— We'll pay the price of war to make it real. Votes: 0

Religion? Yes, I know it well; I've heard its prayers and creeds, And seen men put them all to shame with poor, half-hearted deeds. They follow Christ, but far away; they wander and they doubt. I'll serve him in a better way, and live his precepts out. Votes: 0

So in the heart, When, fading slowly down the past, Fond memories depart, And each that leaves it seems the last; Long after all the rest are flown, Returns a solitary tone,— The after-echo of departed years,— And touches all the soul to tears. Votes: 0

So let the way wind up the hill or down, O'er rough or smooth, the journey will be joy; Still seeking what I sought when but a boy, New friendship, high adventure, and a crown. My heart will keep the courage of the quest, And hope the road's last turn will be the best. Votes: 0

Some people are so afraid do die that they never begin to live. Votes: 0

Spend as much time as possible, with body and with spirit in God's out-of-doors. Votes: 0

The Bible does not profess to make men omniscient, but simply to tell them enough to make them happy and good, if they will believe it and live up to it. Votes: 0

The Bible teaches that God owns the world. He distributes to every man according to His own good pleasure, conformably to general laws. Votes: 0

The brave man is intelligent; he faces danger because he understands it and is prepared to meet it. The drunkard who runs, in the delirium of intoxication, into a burning house is not brave; he is only stupid. But the clear-eyed hero who makes his way, with every sense alert and every nerve strung, into the hell of flames to rescue some little child, proves his courage. Votes: 0

The kingdom of birds is divided into two departments - birds and House Sparrows. House Sparrows are not real birds - they are little beasts! Votes: 0

The meditative angler is not exempt from sensational periods. There are times when all the uncertainty of his chosen pursuit seems to condense itself into one big chance, and stand out before him like a salmon on the top wave of a rapid. He sees his luck hangs by a single strand of gut, and he cannot tell whether it will hold or break. This is the thrilling moment and he never forgets it. Votes: 0

The more keenly we are awake to the perils of life, the higher and grander is the possibility of being truly brave. Votes: 0

The shadow by my finger cast Divides the future from the past: Before it, sleeps the unborn hour, In darkness, and beyond thy power. Behind its unreturning line, The vanished hour, no longer thine: One hour alone is in thy hands,- The NOW on which the shadow stands. Votes: 0

The storm is ended! The impartial sunLaughs down upon the battle lost and won,And crowns the triumph of the cloudy hostIn rolling lines retreating to the coast. Votes: 0

The strength of your life is measured by the strength of your will. Votes: 0

The world is full of warfare 'twixt the evil and the good;I watched the battle from afar as one who understoodThe shouting and confusion, the bloody, blundering fight-How few there are that see it clear, how few that wage it right! Votes: 0

The worlds in which we live at heart are one, The world "I am," the fruit of "I have done"; And underneath these worlds of flower and fruit, The world "I love,"--the only living root. Votes: 0

There is no conflict between the Old and the New; the conflict is between the False and the True. Votes: 0

This is the gospel of labour, ring it, ye bells of the kirk! The Lord of Love came down from above, to live with the men who work. This is the rose that He planted, here in the thorn-curst soil: Heaven is blest with perfect rest, but the blessing of Earth is toil. Votes: 0

This is the soldier brave enough to tellThe glory-dazzled world that "war is hell":Lover of peace, he looks beyond the strife,And rides through hell to save his country's life. Votes: 0

Those who would see wonderful things must often be ready to travel alone. Votes: 0

Thou wayfaring Jesus - a pilgrim and stranger, Exiled from heaven by love at Thy birth: Exiled again from Thy rest in the manger, A fugitive child 'mid the perils of earth - Cheer with Thy fellowship all who are weary, Wandering far from the land that they love: Guide every heart that is homeless and dreary, Safe to its home in Thy presence above. Votes: 0

Time is: Too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear. Votes: 0

We are all swimmers in God's mighty sea. Votes: 0

We may be able to tell how many stars are in the Milky Way; we may be able to count the petals of every flower, and number the bones of every bird; but unless faith leads us to a deeper understanding, a more reverent comprehension of the significance of the universe, God can be no more pleased with our knowledge than the painter is pleased with the fly which touches his picture with its feelers, and sips the varnish from the surface, and dies without dreaming of the meaning, thought, feeling, embodied in the colors. Votes: 0

We measure success by accumulation. The measure is false. The true measure is appreciation. He who loves most has most. Votes: 0

What do I owe my father? Everything! Votes: 0

What is Fortune, what is Fame? Futile gold and phantom name- Riches buried in a cave, Glory written on a grave. Votes: 0

What is Friendship? Something deep That the heart can spend and keep: Wealth that greatens while we give, Praise that heartens us to live. Votes: 0

Who seeks for heaven alone to save his soul, May keep the path, but will not reach the goal; While he who walks in love may wander far, Yet God will bring him where the blessed are. Votes: 0

You can never begin to live until you dare to die. Votes: 0

You may have to live in a crowd, but you do not have to live like it. Votes: 0

You never see the stock called Happiness quoted on the exchange. Votes: 0

There is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas. Votes: 0

In love and friendship, small, steady payments on a gold basis are better than immense promissory notes. Votes: 0