Why John Greenleaf Whittier quotes?
American Quaker poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, was one of the most appreciated poets of 19th-century America, particularly due to his anti-slavery writings. John Greenleaf Whittier regards the Scottish poet Robert Burns as his main inspiration for getting into poetry.
He was also inducted as one of the famous Fireside Poets. During his lifetime, he published many poems and authored some books.
Some of his notable works are; 'Snow-Bound', 'Maud Muller', 'Anti-Slavery Poems: Songs of Labor and Reform', 'The Barefoot Boy', and 'The Worship of Nature'. He dedicated almost 20 years of his life to the cause of abolishing slavery. During that time, he wrote pamphlets, co-founded the American Anti-Slavery Society, and attended conventions.
He also worked as an editor for several abolitionist newspapers. You can check out this collection of John Greenleaf Whittier quotes to know how the talented poet influenced the masses through his writings.
What parents should know
- John Greenleaf Whittier was also a man of faith. Many of his poems portray the love of God and the hope and strength that lies in faith.
- John Greenleaf committed the best of his efforts towards abolishing slavery, whereby the idea of peace became an important theme in his poems.
- Many of John Greenleaf's poems and sayings relay his love of nature.
What to discuss with kids
- Although he was too poor to receive higher education, Whittier became one of the most renowned poets of the later 19th century.
- Whittier decided to join other abolitionist groups despite the risk of being shunned by his academic colleagues and losing opportunities to publish his poetry.
- He made many sacrifices while fighting against slavery. A New Hampshire mob also threatened him because of his anti-slavery writings.
John Greenleaf Whittier Quotes On Faith
1. "I walk with bare, hushed feet the ground
Ye tread with boldness shod;
I dare not fix with mete and bound
The love and power of God." - 'The Eternal Goodness'
2. "Behind the cloud the starlight lurks,
Through showers the sunbeams fall;
For God, who loveth all His works,
Has left His hope with all!" - 'A Dream Of Summer'
3. "Nothing before, nothing behind;
The steps of Faith
Fall on the seeming void, and find
The rock beneath." - 'My Soul And I'
4. "No longer forward nor behind
I look in hope or fear;
But, grateful, take the good I find,
The best of now and here." - 'My Psalm'
5. "Thy work is to hew down. In God's name then:
Put nerve in thy task. Let other men;
Plant, as they may, that better tree whose fruit,
The wounded bosom of the Church shall heal." - 'To Rönge'
6. "Through this dark and stormy night
Faith beholds a feeble light
Up the blackness streaking;
Knowing God's own time is best,
In a patient hope I rest
For the full day-breaking!" - 'Barclay of Ury'
7. "Yet, in the maddening maze of things,
And tossed by storm and flood,
To one fixed trust my spirit clings;
I know that God is good!" - 'The Eternal Goodness'
8. "Forever from the Hand that takes
One blessing from us others fall;
And, soon or late, our Father makes
His perfect recompense to all!" - 'Summer By The Lakeside: Lake Winnipesaukee'
9. "We live by Faith; but Faith is not the slave
Of text and legend. Reason's voice and God's,
Nature's and Duty's, never are at odds." - 'Requirement'
10. "Between the dreadful cherubim
A Father's face is still discern,
As Moses looked of old on Him,
And saw His glory into goodness turn!" - 'The Shadow And The Light'
John Greenleaf Whittier Quotes On Peace
11. "But dream not helm and harness
The sign of valor true;
Peace hath higher tests of manhood
Than battle ever knew." - 'The Hero'
12. "I know not where His islands lift
Their fronded palms in air;
I only know I cannot drift
Beyond His love and care." - 'The Eternal Goodness'
13. "And sweet and far, as from a star,
Replied a voice which shall not cease,
Till, drowning all the noise of war,
It sings the blessed song of peace!" - 'What The Birds Said'
14. "They rested there, escaped awhile
From cares that wear the life away,
To eat the lotus of the Nile
And drink the poppies of Cathay, –" - 'The Tent On The Beach'
15. "If thou of fortune be bereft,
and in thy store there be but left
two loaves, sell one, and with the
dole, buy hyacinths to feed thy soul." - 'If Thou Of Fortune Be Bereft'
John Greenleaf Whittier Quotes On Nature
16. "Give fools their gold, and knaves their power;
Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall;
Who sows a field or trains a flower,
Or plants a tree, is more than all." - 'A Song Of Harvest'
17. "The west-winds blow, and, singing low,
I hear the glad streams run;
The windows of my soul I throw
Wide open to the sun." - 'My Psalm'
18. "Methinks I see the sunset light flooding the river valley, the western hills stretching to the horizon, overhung with trees gorgeous and glowing with the tints of autumn; a mighty flower garden blossoming under the spell of the enchanter, frost." - 'Tales And Sketches'
19. "The sky is hot and hazy, and the wind,
Vying-weary with its long flight from the south,
Unfelt; yet, closely scanned, yon maple leaf
With faintest motion, as one stirs in dreams,
Confesses it." - 'Among The Hills'
20. "The morning broke without a sun;
In tiny spherule traced with lines
Of Nature's geometric signs,
In starry flake, and pellicle,
All day the hoary meteor fell;" - 'Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl'
21. "There is religion in everything around us, a calm and holy religion in the unbreathing things of Nature, which man would do well to imitate."
22. "Beauty seen is never lost, God's colors all are fast."
23. "I read each misty mountain sign,
I know the voice of wave and pine,
And I am yours, and ye are mine." - 'Summer By The Lakeside: Lake Winnipesaukee'
24. "The sun that brief December day
Rose cheerless over hills of grey,
And, darkly circled, gave at noon
A sadder light than waning moon." - 'Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl'
More John Greenleaf Whittier Quotes
25. "And one there was, a dreamer born,
Who, with a mission to fulfil,
Had left the Muses' haunts to turn
The crank of an opinion-mill,
Making his rustic reed of song
A weapon in the war with wrong," - 'The Tent On The Beach'
26. "And still we love the evil cause,
And of the just effect complain
We tread upon life's broken laws,
And murmur at our self-inflicted pain;" - 'The Shadow And The Light'
27. "As a small businessperson, you have no greater leverage than the truth."
28. "Clothe with life the weak intent,
Let me be the thing I meant."
29. "Pledges of thy love and faith,
Proved on many a field of death,
Not by me are needed." - 'Barclay Of Ury'
30. "At what point does a man turn into a monster? I don't believe that it's when he does horrible things, but when he accepts that he's able to do them and that he does them well."
31. "A little smile, a word of cheer,
A bit of love from someone near,
A little gift from one held dear,
Best wishes for the coming year.
These make a merry Christmas!"
32. "Yet, sometimes glimpses on my sight,
Through present wrong, the eternal right;
And, step by step, since time began,
I see the steady gain of man;" - 'The Chapels Of The Hermits'
33. "How dwarfed against his manliness she sees the poor pretension, the wants, the aims, the follies, born of fashion and convention!"
34. "Alas for maiden, alas for Judge,
For rich repiner and household drudge!
God pity them both! and pity us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall.
For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: "It might have been!" "- 'Maud Muller'
35. "Oh for boyhood's painless play,
Sleep that wakes in laughing day,
Health that mocks the doctor's rules,
Knowledge never learned of schools." - 'The Barefoot Boy'
36. "The dreariest spot in all the land
To Death they set apart;
With scanty grace from Nature's hand,
And none from that of Art." - 'The Old Burying-Ground'
37. "They tell me, Lucy, thou art dead,
That all of thee we loved and cherished
Has with thy summer roses perished;
And left, as its young beauty fled,
An ashen memory in its stead" - 'Lucy Hooper'
38. "For still the new transcends the old,
In signs and tokens manifold;
Slaves rise up men; the olive waves,
With roots deep set in battle graves!" - 'The Chapel Of The Hermits'
39. "Through this broad street, restless ever,
Ebbs and flows a human tide,
Wave on wave a living river;
Wealth and fashion side by side;
Toiler, idler, slave and master, in the same quick current glide." - 'At Washington'
40. "Somehow, not only for Christmas
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others
Is the joy that comes back to you.
And the more you spend in blessing
The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing
Returns to make you glad." - 'Sometimes Not Only For Christmas'
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