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If you will observe, it doesn’t take
A man of giant mould to make
A giant shadow on the wall;
And he who in our daily sight
Seems but a figure mean and small,
Outlined in Fame’s illusive light,
May stalk, a silhouette sublime,
Across the canvas of his time.

— John Townsend Trowbridge

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More quotes by John Townsend Trowbridge

Men are polished, through act and speech,
Each by each,
As pebbles are smoothed on the rolling beach.

The tears of the young who go their way, last a day;
But the grief is long of the old who stay.

With years a richer life begins,
The spirit mellows:
Ripe age gives tone to violins,
Wine, and good fellows.

"Wal, I like flyin' well enough,"
He said, "but the' ain't sich a thundern' sight
O' fun in't when ye come to light."

Darius Green and his Flying Machine (1867)

Not in rewards, but in the strength to strive,
The blessing lies.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Townsend Trowbridge (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.