Top 100 Henry Van Dyke Quotes
#1. 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
#2. Culture is the habit of being pleased with the best and knowing why.
Henry Van Dyke
#3. Deeds not Words: I say so too! And yet I find it somehow true, A word may help a man in need, To nobler act and braver deed.
Henry Van Dyke
#4. A peace that depends on fear is nothing but a suppressed war.
Henry Van Dyke
#5. Those who would see wonderful things must often be ready to travel alone.
Henry Van Dyke
#6. We measure success by accumulation. The measure is false. The true measure is appreciation. He who loves most has most.
Henry Van Dyke
#7. There is no conflict between the Old and the New; the conflict is between the False and the True.
Henry Van Dyke
#8. He that planteth a tree ... provideth a kindness for many generations.
Henry Van Dyke
#9. It is better to burn the candle at both ends, and in the middle, too, than to put it away in the closet and let the mice eat it.
Henry Van Dyke
#10. 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
#11. 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
#12. There is a loftier ambition than to stand high in the world. It is to step down and lift mankind a little higher.
Henry Van Dyke
#13. 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."
Henry Van Dyke
#14. Faith is an adventure; it is the courage of the soul to face the unknown. But that courage springs from the hope and confidence of the soul that its adventure will succeed.
Henry Van Dyke
#15. Even if we should find another Eden, we would not be fit to enjoy it perfectly nor stay in it forever.
Henry Van Dyke
#16. It is with rivers as it is with people: the greatest are not always the most agreeable nor the best to live with.
Henry Van Dyke
#17. Gratitude is a two fold love - love coming to visit us, and love running out to greet a welcome guest.
Henry Van Dyke
#18. The kingdom of birds is divided into two departments - birds and House Sparrows. House Sparrows are not real birds - they are little beasts!
Henry Van Dyke
#19. Heaven is blessed with perfect rest but the blessing of earth is toil.
Henry Van Dyke
#20. All Thy works with joy surround Thee, God of glory, Lord of Love; Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, vale and mountain, Flowery meadow, flashing sea, Chanting bird and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee.
Henry Van Dyke
#21. The first day of spring is one thing and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.
Henry Van Dyke
#22. In the progress of personality, first comes a declaration of independence, then a recognition of interdependence.
Henry Van Dyke
#23. Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to.
Henry Van Dyke
#25. I heard through the nightThe rush and the clamour;The pulse of the fightLike blows of Thor's hammer;The pattering flightOf the leaves, and the anguishedMoan of the forest vanquished.
Henry Van Dyke
#27. This is the soldier brave enough to tellThe glory-dazzled world that "war is hell":Lover of peace, he looks beyond the strife,And rides through hell to save his country's life.
Henry Van Dyke
#28. A tear that trembles for a little while
Upon the trembling eyelid, till the world
Wavers within its circle like a dream,
Holds more of meaning in its narrow orb
Than all the distant landscape that it blurs.
Henry Van Dyke
#29. Every country-or at least every country that is fit for habitation-has its own rivers; and every river has its own quality; and it is the part of wisdom to know and love as many as you can, seeing each in the fairest possible light, and receiving from each the best that it has to give.
Henry Van Dyke
#30. 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
#31. The world is full of warfare 'twixt the evil and the good;I 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
#32. There are two good rules which ought to be written on every heart - never to believe anything bad about anybody unless you positively know it to be true; never to tell even that unless you feel that it is absolutely necessary, and that God is listening.
Henry Van Dyke
#33. Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars.
Henry Van Dyke
#34. To desire and strive to be of some service to the world, to aim at doing something which shall really increase the happiness and welfare and virtue of mankind - this is a choice which is possible for all of us; and surely it is a good haven to sail for.
Henry Van Dyke
#35. The shadow by my finger cast Divides the future from the past: Before it, sleeps the unborn hour, In darkness, and beyond thy power. Behind its unreturning line, The vanished hour, no longer thine: One hour alone is in thy hands,- The NOW on which the shadow stands.
Henry Van Dyke
#36. I'm only wishing to go a-fishing;For this the month of May was made.
Henry Van Dyke
#37. The Bible teaches that God owns the world. He distributes to every man according to His own good pleasure, conformably to general laws.
Henry Van Dyke
#38. Modest egotism is the salt of conversation; you do not want too much of it, but if it is altogether omitted, everything tastes flat.
Henry Van Dyke
#39. Christ never asks us to give up merely for the sake of giving up, but always in order to win something better.
Henry Van Dyke
#40. Four things a man must learn to do If he would make his record true; To think without confusion clearly; To love his fellowmen sincerely; To act from honest motives purely; To trust in God and Heav'n securely.
Henry Van Dyke
#41. Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.
Henry Van Dyke
#42. 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
#43. Oh It's home again, and homed again, America for me. I want a ship that's Westward bound, to plough the rolling sea.
Henry Van Dyke
#44. 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
#45. The best rose-bush, after all, is not that which has the fewest thorns, but that which bears the finest roses.
Henry Van Dyke
#46. No matter what theory of the origin of government you adopt, if you follow it out to its legitimate conclusions it will bring you face to face with the moral law.
Henry Van Dyke
#47. 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
#48. Life is an arrow, therefore you must know What mark to aim at, how to use the bow
Then draw it to the head and let it go!
Henry Van Dyke
#49. 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
#50. He knew that all was well, because he had done the best that he could, from day to day. He had been true to the light that had been given to him
Henry Van Dyke
#51. Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live.
Henry Van Dyke
#52. There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament.
Henry Van Dyke
#53. You never see the stock called Happiness quoted on the exchange.
Henry Van Dyke
#54. Be grateful for the tiny details of your life and make room for unexpected and beautiful blessings.
Henry Van Dyke
#55. Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very quiet if only those birds sing there that sang best.
Henry Van Dyke
#56. As long as habit and routine dictate the pattern of living, new dimensions of the soul will not emerge.
Henry Van Dyke
#58. I thank God for the honesty and virility of Jesus religion which makes us face the facts and calls us to take a man's part in the real battle of life.
Henry Van Dyke
#59. 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.
Henry Van Dyke
#60. Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.
Henry Van Dyke
#61. Death comes in its own time, in its own way.Death is as unique as the individual experiencing it.
Henry Van Dyke
#62. In love and friendship, small, steady payments on a gold basis are better than immense promissory notes.
Henry Van Dyke
#63. Not to the swift, the race: Not to the strong, the fight: Not to the righteous, perfect grace: Not to the wise, the light. But often faltering feet Come surest to the goal; And they who walk in darkness meet The sunrise of the soul.
Henry Van Dyke
#64. It is better to follow even the shadow of the best, than to remain content with the worst.
Henry Van Dyke
#65. Courage is the standing army of the soul which keeps it from conquest, pillage, and slavery.
Henry Van Dyke
#66. Thou warden of the western gate, above Manhattan Bay, The fogs of doubt that hid thy face are driven clean away: Thine eyes at last look far and clear, thou liftest high thy hand To spread the light of liberty world-wide for every land.
Henry Van Dyke
#67. I know that Europe's wonderful, yet something seems to lack;The Past is too much with her, and the people looking back.
Henry Van Dyke
#68. Spend as much time as possible, with body and with spirit in God's out-of-doors.
Henry Van Dyke
#69. Jazz: Music invented for the torture of imbeciles.
Henry Van Dyke
#70. One truly affectionate soul in a family will evert a sweetening and harmonizing influence upon all its members.
Henry Van Dyke
#71. The Bible does not profess to make men omniscient, but simply to tell them enough to make them happy and good, if they will believe it and live up to it.
Henry Van Dyke
#72. The lintel low enough to keep out pomp and pride; The threshold high enough to turn deceit aside; The doorband strong enough from robbers to defend; This door will open at a touch to welcome every friend.
Henry Van Dyke
#73. 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
#74. 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
#75. The proverb says that 'well begun is half done.' But the other half is harder and more necessary,-to get a thing well ended.
Henry Van Dyke
#76. 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
#78. 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
#79. A peaceful man must fight For that which peace demands,- Freedom and faith, honor and right, Defend with heart and hands.
Henry Van Dyke
#81. What we do belongs to what we are; and what we are is what becomes of us.
Henry Van Dyke
#83. What is Fortune, what is Fame?
Futile gold and phantom name-
Riches buried in a cave,
Glory written on a grave.
Henry Van Dyke
#84. In warlike pomp, with banners flowing, The regiments of autumn stood: I saw their gold and scarlet glowing From every hillside, every wood.
Henry Van Dyke
#85. There is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas.
Henry Van Dyke
#86. The storm is ended! The impartial sunLaughs down upon the battle lost and won,And crowns the triumph of the cloudy hostIn rolling lines retreating to the coast.
Henry Van Dyke
#87. Love is the best thing in the world, and the thing that lives the longest.
Henry Van Dyke
#88. 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
#89. 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
#90. The simple life which blandly ignores all care and conflict, soon becomes flabby and invertebrate, sentimental and gelatinous.
Henry Van Dyke
#91. Many a treasure besides Ali Baba's is unlocked with a verbal key.
Henry Van Dyke
#92. Long ago Apollo called to Aristaeus, youngest of the shepherds, Saying, "I will make you keeper of my bees." Golden were the hives, and golden was the honey; golden, too, the music, Where the honey-makers hummed among the trees.
Henry Van Dyke
#93. O' who will walk with me along lifes merry way? A comrade blithe and full of glee, who dares to laugh out loud and free ...
Henry Van Dyke
#94. Heaven often seems distant and unknown, but if He who made the road ... is our guide, we need not fear to lose the way.
Henry Van Dyke
#95. You can never begin to live until you dare to die.
Henry Van Dyke
#96. There is only one way to get ready for immortality, and that is to love this life and live it as bravely and faithfully and cheerfully as we can.
Henry Van Dyke
#97. The woods would be quiet if no bird sang but the one that sang best.
Henry Van Dyke
#98. For ever so our thoughtful hearts repeatOn fields of triumph dirges of defeat;And still we turn on gala-days to treadAmong the rustling memories of the dead.
Henry Van Dyke
#99. Man said, I am tired of kings! Sons of the robber-chiefs of yore, They make me pay for their lust and their war; I am the puppet, they pull the strings; The blood of my heart is the wine they drink. I will govern myself for awhile I think, And see what that brings!
Henry Van Dyke
#100. Some people are so afraid do die that they never begin to live.
Henry Van Dyke
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