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Quotes from The Seaside and the Fireside — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

1807–1882 United States

← All quotes by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

19 quotes

Safe from temptation, safe from sin's pollution,
She lives whom we call dead.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

And in the wreck of noble lives
Something immortal still survives.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

There is no Death! What seems so is transition;
This life of mortal breath
Is but a suburb of the life elysian,
Whose portal we call Death.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

For his heart was in his work, and the heart
Giveth grace unto every Art.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the gods see everywhere.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

God sent his Singers upon earth
With songs of sadness and of mirth,
That they might touch the hearts of men,
And bring them back to heaven again.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

There is no flock, however watched and tended,
But one dead lamb is there!
There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended,
But has one vacant chair!

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

What seem to us but sad, funereal tapers
May be heaven's distant lamps.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

The air is full of farewells to the dying,
And mournings for the dead.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

But oftentimes celestial benedictions
Assume this dark disguise.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

O holy trust! O endless sense of rest!
Like the beloved John
To lay his head upon the Saviour's breast,
And thus to journey on!

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee,
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee,—are all with thee!

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

Build me straight, O worthy Master!
Stanch and strong, a goodly vessel,
That shall laugh at all disaster,
And with wave and whirlwind wrestle!

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the Sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

But the great Master said, "I see
No best in kind, but in degree;
I gave a various gift to each,
To charm, to strengthen, and to teach.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

And see! she stirs!
She starts,—she moves,—she seems to feel
The thrill of life along her keel,
And, spurning with her foot the ground,
With one exulting, joyous bound,
She leaps into the ocean's arms!

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

Sail forth into the sea of life,
O gentle, loving, trusting wife,
And safe from all adversity
Upon the bosom of that sea
Thy comings and thy goings be!
For gentleness and love and trust
Prevail o'er angry wave and gust;
And in the wreck of noble lives
Something immortal still survives.

The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.