Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on life
There are moments in life, when the heart is so full of emotion That if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret, Spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered together. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on life
It is difficult to know at what moment love begins it is less difficult to know that it has begun. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on love
The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on love
Heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upward in the night. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on men
Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on men
Each morning sees some task begun, each evening sees it close Something attempted, something done, has earned a night's repose. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on morning
Whenever nature leaves a hole in a person's mind, she generally plasters it over with a thick coat of self-conceit. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on nature
Morality without religion is only a kind of dead reckoning - an endeavor to find our place on a cloudy sea by measuring the distance we have run, but without any observation of the heavenly bodies. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on religion
Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on sad
Men of genius are often dull and inert in society as the blazing meteor, when it descends to earth, is only a stone. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on society
Method is more important than strength, when you wish to control your enemies. By dropping golden beads near a snake, a crow once managed To have a passer-by kill the snake for the beads. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on strength
The strength of criticism lies in the weakness of the thing criticized. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on strength
Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on success
The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well, and doing well whatever you do without thought of fame. If it comes at all it will come because it is deserved, not because it is sought after. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on success