Quote

There is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas.

Henry Van Dyke

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Henry Van Dyke
Age: 80 †
Born: 1852
Born: November 10
Died: 1933
Died: April 10
Diplomat
Poet
Writer
Germantown
Philadelphia
Observance
Keeping
Christmas
Better
Thing

More quotes by Henry Van Dyke

Image
For ever so our thoughtful hearts repeatOn fields of triumph dirges of defeatAnd still we turn on gala-days to treadAmong the rustling memories of the dead.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
There is no conflict between the Old and the New the conflict is between the False and the True.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Even if we should find another Eden, we would not be fit to enjoy it perfectly nor stay in it forever.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Of all the things that man has made, no is so full of interest and charm, none possesses so distinct a life and character of its own, as a ship.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Oh, London is a man's town, there's power in the air And Paris is a woman's town, with flowers in her hair And it's sweet to dream in Venice, and it's great to study Rome But when it comes to living, there is no place like home.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Who can explain the secret pathos of Nature's loveliness? It is a touch of melancholy inherited from our mother Eve. It is an unconscious memory of the lost Paradise. It is the sense that even if we should find another Eden, we would not be fit to enjoy it perfectly nor stay in it forever.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Natural beauty and wonder are priceless heirlooms which God has bestowed upon our nation. How shall we escape the contempt of the coming generation if we suffer this irreplaceable heritage to be wasted?
Henry Van Dyke
Image
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
Image
So let the way wind up the hill or down, O’er rough or smooth, the journey will be joy Still seeking what I sought when but a boy, New friendship, high adventure, and a crown. My heart will keep the courage of the quest, And hope the road’s last turn will be the best.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
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
Image
A friend is what the heart needs all the time.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
The worlds in which we live at heart are one, The world I am, the fruit of I have done And underneath these worlds of flower and fruit, The world I love,--the only living root.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Use what talents you possess the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Jazz: Music invented for the torture of imbeciles.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Fidelity is simply daring to be true in small things as well as great.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Who seeks for heaven alone to save his soul, May keep the path, but will not reach the goal While he who walks in love may wander far, Yet God will bring him where the blessed are.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Lord, when my spirit shall return to thee, At the foot of a friendly tree let my body be buried, That this dust may rise and rejoice among the branches.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Tact is the unsaid part of what you think.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
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.
Henry Van Dyke