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
Keeping
Christmas
Better
Thing
Observance

More quotes by Henry Van Dyke

Image
In the progress of personality, first comes a declaration of independence, then a recognition of interdependence.
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
Favorite People, Favorite Places, Favorite Memories of the past ... These are the joys of a lifetime Those are the things that last
Henry Van Dyke
Image
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
Image
Happiness is inward, and not outward and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
No amount of energy will take the place of thought.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Thou wayfaring Jesus - a pilgrim and stranger, Exiled from heaven by love at Thy birth: Exiled again from Thy rest in the manger, A fugitive child 'mid the perils of earth - Cheer with Thy fellowship all who are weary, Wandering far from the land that they love: Guide every heart that is homeless and dreary, Safe to its home in Thy presence above.
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
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
Tact is the unsaid part of what you think.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
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.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Religion? Yes, I know it well I've heard its prayers and creeds, And seen men put them all to shame with poor, half-hearted deeds. They follow Christ, but far away they wander and they doubt. I'll serve him in a better way, and live his precepts out.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Peace without Justice is a low estate,— A coward cringing to an iron Fate! But Peace through Justice is the great ideal,— We'll pay the price of war to make it real.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
So in the heart, When, fading slowly down the past, Fond memories depart, And each that leaves it seems the last Long after all the rest are flown, Returns a solitary tone,— The after-echo of departed years,— And touches all the soul to tears.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Jazz: Music invented for the torture of imbeciles.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love, to work, to play, and to look up at the stars.
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
A clean and sensitive conscience, a steady and scrupulous integrity in small things as well as large, is the most valuable of all possessions, to a nation as to an individual.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
But this I know. Those who seek Him will do well to look among the poor and the lowly, the sorrowful and the oppressed.
Henry Van Dyke
Image
The more keenly we are awake to the perils of life, the higher and grander is the possibility of being truly brave.
Henry Van Dyke