William C. Bryant Quotes

William C. Bryant, an American poet, and journalist, is known for his nature poetry and advocacy for abolitionism. His poem "Thanatopsis" remains a celebrated work in American literature. As editor of the New York Evening Post, Bryant's influence extended beyond poetry to significant contributions in journalism and social reform.

"Thine eyes are springs in whose serene And silent waters heaven is seen. Their lashes are the herbs that look On their young figures in the brook."

Nature, Eyes, Heaven

1

"Pain dies quickly, and lets her weary prisoners go; the fiercest agonies have shortest reign."

Pain,

2

"A stable, changeless state, 'twere cause indeed to weep."

Cause, State

3

"The moon is at her full, and riding high, Floods the calm fields with light. The airs that hover in the summer sky Are all asleep tonight."

Nature, Light, Moon, Sky, Summer

2

"Eloquence is the poetry of prose."

Poetry, Eloquence, Prose

2

"The February sunshine steeps your boughs and tints the buds and swells the leaves within."

Nature, February

2

"All that tread, the globe are but a handful to the tribes, that slumber in its bosom."

Reading, Read

3

"A sculptor wields The chisel, and the stricken marble grows To beauty."

Beauty,

3

"And suns grow meek, and the meek suns grow brief, and the year smiles as it draws near its death."

Death, Smiles

4

"The little windflower, whose just opened eye is blue as the spring heaven it gazes at."

Nature, Eye, Heaven, Spring

3

"Difficulty, my brethren, is the nurse of greatness - a harsh nurse, who roughly rocks her foster - children into strength and athletic proportion."

Strength, Greatness, Children, Difficulty

2

"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."

Virtue, Innocence, Remorse

3

"There is no glory in star or blossom till looked upon by a loving eye; There is no fragrance in April breezes till breathed with joy as they wander by."

Nature, April, Eye, Glory, Joy

6

"Winning isn't everything, but it beats anything in second place."

Winning,

1

"The groves were God's first temples."

God, First

3

"Loveliest of lovely things are they on earth that soonest pass away. The rose that lives its little hour is prized beyond the sculptured flower."

Earth,

5

"Weep not that the world changes - did it keep a stable, changeless state, it were cause indeed to weep."

Cause, State, World

4

"Go forth under the open sky, and list To Nature's teachings."

Nature, Open, Sky

2

"To him who in the love of Nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language."

Love, Nature, Language

2

"Poetry is that art which selects and arranges the symbols of thought in such a manner as to excite the imagination the most powerfully and delightfully."

Art, Imagination, Poetry, Thought

3

"Truth gets well if she is run over by a locomotive, while error dies of lockjaw if she scratches her finger."

Truth, Error