56 Martin Farquhar Tupper Quotes

Martin Farquhar Tupper quotes

1. Away with false fashion, so calm and so chill, Where pleasure itself cannot please; Away with cold breeding, that faithlessly still Affects to be quite at its ease; For the deepest in feeling is highest in rank, The freest is first of the band, Nature's own Nobleman, friendly and frank, Is a man with his heart in his hand!

2. Error is a hardy plant; it flourisheth in every soil; In the heart of the wise and good, alike with the wicked and foolish; For there is no error so crooked, but it hath in it some lines of truth; Nor is any poison so deadly, that it serveth not some wholesome use.

3. There is a limit to enjoyment, though the sources of wealth be boundless And the choicest pleasures of life lie within the ring of moderation.

4. Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.

5. A good book is the best of friends, the same today and forever.

6. A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men.

7. God, from a beautiful necessity, is Love in all he doeth, Love, a brilliant fire, to gladden or consume: The wicked work their woe by looking upon love, and hating it: The righteous find their joys in yearning on its loveliness for ever.

8. Tell me, ye that strive in vain to cramp and dwarf the soul, Wherefore should it cease to be, and when shall essence die?

9. If the mind is wearied by study, or the body worn with sickness, It is well to lie fallow for a while, in the vacancy of sheer amusement ; But when thou prosprest in health, and thine intellect can soar untired, To seek uninstructive pleasure is to slumber on the couch of indolence.

10. Wait, thou child of hope, for Time shall teach thee all things.

11. Clamorous pauperism feasteth While honest Labor, pining, hideth his sharp ribs.

12. Who can wrestle against Sleep? - Yet is that giant very gentleness.

13. I am not old,-I cannot be old, Though threescore years and ten Have wasted away, like a tale that is told.

14. Never give up! it is wiser and better Always to hope, than once to despair.

15. For life, good youth, hath never an ill Which hope cannot scatter, and faith cannot kill; And stubborn realities never shall bind The free-spreading wings of a cheerful mind.

16. Who shall guess what I may be? Who can tell my fortune to me? For, bravest and brightest that ever was sung May be-and shall be-the lot of the young!

17. How gladly would I wander through some strange and savage land, The lasso at my saddle-bow, the rifle in my hand, A leash of gallant mastiffs bounding by my side, And, for a friend to love, the noble horse on which I ride! Alone, alone-yet not alone, for God is with me there, The tender hand of Providence shall guide me everywhere, While happy thoughts and holy hopes, as spirits calm and mild, Shall fan with their sweet wings the hermit-hunter of the wild!

18. Open the casement, and up with the Sun! His gallant journey is just begun; Over the hills his chariot is roll'd, Banner'd with glory, and burnish'd with gold,- Over the hills he comes sublime, Bridegroom of Earth, and brother of Time!

19. Hush,-for the halo of calmness is spreading Over my spirit as mild as a dove; Hush,-for the angel of comfort is shedding Over my body his vial of love; Hush,-for new slumbers are over me stealing, Thus would I court them again and again, Hush,-for my heart is intoxicate,-reeling In the swift waltz of my beautiful brain!

20. The dews of Hermon rest upon thee now, Fair saint and martyr! and yet once again Faith, hope and charity, like gracious rain, Fall on thy consecrated virgin brow.

21. Rise! ye gallant youth of Britain, Gather to your country's call, On your hearts her name is written, Rise to help her, one and all!

22. 'Let byegones be byegones,'-they foolishly say, And bid me be wise and forget them; But old recollections are active to-day, And I can do nought but regret them.

23. When streams of unkindness, as bitter as gall, Bubble up from the heart to the tongue, And Meekness is writhing in torment and thrall, By the hands of Ingratitude wrung,- In the heat of injustice, unwept and unfair, While the anguish is festering yet, None, none but an angel or God can declare 'I now can forgive and forget.'

24. Deceit and treachery skulk with hatred, but an honest spirit flieth with anger.

25. He who does not tire, tires adversity.

26. If thou art master to thyself, circumstances shall harm thee little.

27. Memory is not wisdom; idiots can by rote repeat volumes. Yet what is wisdom without memory?

28. Pain adds rest unto pleasure, and teaches the luxury of health.

29. Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscle of omnipotence.

30. Ridicule is a weak weapon when pointed at a strong mind; but common people are cowards and dread an empty laugh.

31. The mines of knowledge are often laid bare by the hazel-wand of chance.

1. Hatred is the atmosphere of hell.

2. Mind is a kingdom to the man who gathereth his pleasure from ideas.

3. Be understood in thy teaching, and instruct to this measure of capacity; precepts and rules are repulsive to a child, but happy illustration winneth him.

4. True wisdom, laboring to expound, heareth others readily; False wisdom, sturdy to deny, closeth up her mind to argument.

5. Power is seldom innocent, and envy is the yokefellow of eminence.

6. Solitude delighteth well to feed on many thoughts; There as thou sittest peaceful, communing with fancy, The precious poetry of life shall gild its leaden cares; There, as thou walkest by the sea beneath the gentle stars, Many kindling seeds of good will sprout within thy soul; Thou shalt weep in Solitude,--thou shalt pray in Solitude. Thou shalt sing for joy of heart, and praise the grace of Solitude.

7. A juggler's skill hath been long years alearning.

8. The seeds of first instructions are dropp'd into the deepest furrows.

9. To-morrow is that lamp upon the marsh, which a traveller never reacheth; To-morrow, the rainbow's cup, coveted prize of ignorance; To-morrow, the shifting anchorage, dangerous trust of manners; To-morrow, the wrecker's beacon, wily snare of the destroyer. Reconcile conviction with delay, and To-morrow is a fatal lie; Frighten resolutions into action, To-morrow is a wholesome truth.

10. Speech is the golden harvest that followeth the flowering of thought.

11. Lay not the plummet to the line; religion hath no landmarks; no human keenness can discern the subtle shades of faith.

12. Alike to the slave and his oppressor cometh night with sweet refreshment, and half of the life of the most wretched is gladdened by the soothings of sleep.

13. Not few nor light are the burdens of life; then load it not with heaviness of spirit.

14. Many a beggar at the crossway, or gray-haired shepherd on the plain, hath more of the end of all wealth than hundreds who multiply the means.

15. Policy counselleth a gift, given wisely and in season; And policy afterwards approveth it, for great is the influence of gifts.

16. Praise a fool, and slay him; for the canvas of his vanity is spread; His bark is shallow in the water, and a sudden gust shall sink it: Praise a wise man, and speed him on his way; for he carrieth the ballast of humility, And is glad when his course is cheered by the sympathy of brethren ashore.

17. Trifles lighter than straws are levers in the building up of character.

18. As frost to the bud, and blight to the blossom, even such is self-interest to friendship; for confidence cannot dwell where selfishness is porter at the gate.

19. Every green herb, from the lotus to the darnel, is rich with delicate aids to help incurious man.

20. Rashly, nor ofttimes truly, doth man pass judgment on his brother; for he seeth not the springs of the heart, nor heareth the reasons of the mind.

21. As thou directest the power, harm or advantage will follow, and the torrent that swept the valley may be led to turn a mill.

22. Love--what a volume in a word, an ocean in a tear, A seventh heaven in a glance, a whirlwind in a sigh, The lightning in a touch, a millennium in a moment, What concentrated joy or woe in blest or blighted love! For it is that native poetry springing up indigenous to Mind, The heart's own-country music thrilling all its chords, The story without an end that angels throng to hear, The word, the king of words, carved on Jehovah's heart!

23. Happiness is a roadside flower growing on the highways of usefulness; plucked, it shall wither in thy hand; passed by, it is fragrance to thy spirit. Trample the thyme beneath thy feet; be useful, be happy.

24. A man too careful of danger liveth in continual torment, But a cheerful expecter of the best hath a fountain of joy within him.

25. Humility mainly becometh the converse of man with his Maker.