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Half of the secular unrest and dismal, profane sadness of modern society comes from the vain ideas that every man is bound to be a critic for life.

Henry Van Dyke

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Henry Van Dyke
Age: 80 †
Born: 1852
Born: November 10
Died: 1933
Died: April 10
Diplomat
Poet
Writer
Germantown
Philadelphia
Men
Critics
Profane
Life
Criticism
Sad
Modern
Critic
Society
Secular
Half
Bound
Comes
Bounds
Ideas
Vain
Dismal
Every
Sadness
Unrest

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Let me but find it in my heart to say, When vagrant wishes beckon me astray, This is my work my blessing, not my doom Of all who live, I am the one by whom This work can best be done in the right way.
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If all the skies were sunshine Our faces would be fain To feel once more upon them The cooling splash of rain. If all the world were music, Our hearts would often long For one sweet strain of silence, To break the endless song If life were always merry, Our souls would seek relief, And rest from weary laughter In the quiet arms of grief.
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Heaven often seems distant and unknown, but if He who made the road... is our guide, we need not fear to lose the way.
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In warlike pomp, with banners flowing, The regiments of autumn stood: I saw their gold and scarlet glowing From every hillside, every wood.
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Favorite People, Favorite Places, Favorite Memories of the past ... These are the joys of a lifetime Those are the things that last
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Like water spilt upon the ground--alas, Our little lives flow swiftly on and pass Yet may they bring rich harvests and green grass!
Henry Van Dyke
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No amount of energy will take the place of thought. A strenuous life with its eyes shut is a kind of wild insanity.
Henry Van Dyke
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Flowers rejoice when night is done, Lift their heads to greet the sun Sweetest looks and odours raise, In a silent hymn of praise.
Henry Van Dyke
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How fascinating is death, the extinction of life. One moment here and the next gone. The light put out and only the empty bag of the body left.
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Love is the heart s immortal thirst to be completely known and all forgiven.
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A flawless cup: how delicate and fine The flowing curve of every jewelled line! Look, turn it up or down, 'tis perfect still-- But holds no drop of life's heart-warming wine.
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What is Friendship? Something deep That the heart can spend and keep: Wealth that greatens while we give, Praise that heartens us to live.
Henry Van Dyke
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The world is full of warfare 'twixt the evil and the goodI watched the battle from afar as one who understoodThe shouting and confusion, the bloody, blundering fight-How few there are that see it clear, how few that wage it right!
Henry Van Dyke
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You can never begin to live until you dare to die.
Henry Van Dyke
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Count not the cost of honour to the dead!The tribute that a mighty nation paysTo those who loved her well in former daysMeans more than gratitude for glories fledFor every noble man that she hath bred,Lives in the bronze and marble that we raise,Immortalised by art's immortal praise,To lead our sons as he our fathers led.
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I shall grow old, but never lose life's zest, because the road's last turn will be the best.
Henry Van Dyke
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Use what talents you possess the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
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There is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas.
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What you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are will be yours forever.
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As long as habit and routine dictate the pattern of living, new dimensions of the soul will not emerge.
Henry Van Dyke