Skip to content

I am weary of planning and toiling
In the crowded hives of men;
Heart weary of building and spoiling
And spoiling and building again;
And I long for the dear old river
Where I dreamed my youth away;
For a dreamer lives forever,
And a toiler dies in a day.

— John Boyle O'Reilly

Another quote →

Topics

Dreams

More quotes by John Boyle O'Reilly

The organized charity, scrimped and iced, In the name of a cautious, statistical Christ.

Be silent and safe—silence never betrays you.

Take gifts with a sigh: most men give to be paid.

I'd rather live in Bohemia than in any other land.

Who heeds not experience, trust him not.

All John Boyle O'Reilly quotes →

You may also like

Political leaders are never leaders. For leaders we have to look to the Awakeners! Lao Tse, Buddha, Socrates, Jesus, Milarepa, Gurdjiev, Krishnamurti.

Henry Miller My Bike & Other Friends (1977)

Utu, shepherd of the land, father of the black-headed, when you go to sleep, the people go to sleep with you; youth Utu, when you rise, the people rise with you.

Lugalbanda

Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful imaginations. This pleases me.

L. Frank Baum Introduction to The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)

Religion in so far as it is a source of consolation is a hindrance to true faith; and in this sense atheism is a purification.

Simone Weil

Attribution

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