193 quotes
Those who follow the banners of Reason are like the well-disciplined battalion, which, wearing a more sober uniform, and making a less dazzling show, than the light troops commanded by Imagination, enjoy more safety, and even more honour, in the conflicts of human life.
Redgauntlet (1824)
In peace, Love tunes the shepherd's reed;
In war, he mounts the warrior's steed;
In halls, in gay attire is seen;
In hamlets, dances on the green.
Love rules the court, the camp, the grove,
And men below, and saints above;
For love is heaven, and heaven is love.
The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805)
Vengeance to God alone belongs;
But, when I think of all my wrongs
My blood is liquid flame!
Marmion (1808)
Respect was mingled with surprise,
And the stern joy which warriors feel
In foeman worthy of their steel.
The Lady of the Lake (1810)
On his bold visage middle age
Had slightly press'd its signet sage.
Lady of the Lake (1810)
Time will rust the sharpest sword,
Time will consume the strongest cord;
That which molders hemp and steel,
Mortal arm and nerve must feel.
Harold the Dauntless (1817)
High minds, of native pride and force,
Most deeply feel thy pangs, Remorse;
Fear, for their scourge, mean villains have,
Thou art the torturer of the brave!
Marmion (1808)
Randolph, thy wreath has lost a rose.
The Lord of the Isles (1815)
The sickening pang of hope deferr'd.
Lady of the Lake (1810)
Along thy wild and willow'd shore.
The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805)
A mother's pride, a father's joy.
Rokeby (1813)
But there's a gude time coming.
Thou and I are but the blind instruments of some irresistible fatality, that hurries us along, like goodly vessels driving before the storm, which are dashed against each other, and so perish.
Ivanhoe (1819)
Where, where was Roderick then!
One blast upon his bugle-horn
Were worth a thousand men.
The Lady of the Lake (1810)
Woe to the youth whom Fancy gains,
Winning from Reason's hand the reins,
Pity and woe! for such a mind
Is soft, contemplative, and kind.
I'll dream no more—by manly mind
Not even in sleep is well resigned.
My midnight orisons said o'er,
I'll turn to rest and dream no more.
Lady of the Lake (1810)
Ridicule, the weapon of all others most feared by enthusiasts of every description, and which, from its predominance over such minds, often checks what is absurd, and fully as often smothers that which is noble.
Quentin Durward (1823)
The pith of conversation does not consist in exhibiting your own superior knowledge on matters of small consequence, but in enlarging, improving, and correcting the information you possess, by the authority of others.
Quentin Durward (1823)
And ne'er did Grecian chisel trace
A Nymph, a Naiad, or a Grace
Of finer form or lovelier face.
The Lady of the Lake (1810)
What skilful limner o'er would choose
To paint the rainbow's varying hues,
Unless to mortal it were given
To dip his brush in dyes of heaven?
Marmion (1808)