Count not the cost of honour to the dead!The tribute that a mighty nation paysTo those who loved her well in former daysMeans more than gratitude for glories fled;For every noble man that she hath bred,Lives in the bronze and marble that we raise,Immortalised by art's immortal praise,To lead our sons as he our fathers led.

Henry Van Dyke

Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.

Henry Van Dyke

change motivational inspirational

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

sailing choices desire

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

happiness love life

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

love romantic life

A river is the most human and companionable of all inanimate things. It has a life, a character, a voice of its own; and it is as full of good fellowship as a sugar maple is of sap. It can talk in various tones, loud or low, and of many subjects grave and gay.... For real company and friendship there is nothing, outside of the animal kingdom, that is comparable to a river.

Henry Van Dyke

gay real character

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

inspirational character death

There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher.

Henry Van Dyke

political ambition positive

If all the skies were sunshine Our faces would be fain To feel once more upon them The cooling splash of rain. If all the world were music, Our hearts would often long For one sweet strain of silence, To break the endless song If life were always merry, Our souls would seek relief, And rest from weary laughter In the quiet arms of grief.

Henry Van Dyke

song sweet life

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

goal blessed love

be glαd of life, becαuse it gives you the chαnce to love αnd to work αnd to plαy αnd to look up αt the stαrs; to be sαtisfied with your posessions, to despise nothing in the world except fαlsehood αnd meαnness αnd to feαr nothing except cowαrdice; to be governed by your αdmirαtions rαther thαn by your disgusts, to covet nothing thαt is your neighbour's except his kindness of heαrt αnd gentleness of mαnners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends and to spend αs much time αs you cαn with body αnd with spirit.

Henry Van Dyke

kindness giving thinking

Every house where love abides

Henry Van Dyke

home heart sweet

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

heaven way needs

Love is not getting, but giving; It is goodness, and honor, and peace and pure living.

Henry Van Dyke

honor love giving

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

love life way

Happiness is inward, and not outward; and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.

Henry Van Dyke

success happiness life

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

differences months spring

The strength of your life is measured by the strength of your will.

Henry Van Dyke

life-is

These are the things I prize And hold of dearest worth: Light of the sapphire skies, Peace of the silent hills, Shelter of the forests, comfort of the grass, Music of birds, murmur of little rills, Shadows of cloud that swiftly pass, And, after showers, The smell of flowers And of the good brown earth,- And best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth.

Henry Van Dyke

flower friendship peace

Love that leads life upward is the noblest and the best.

Henry Van Dyke

life

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

courage spring adventure