O suffering, sad humanity! O ye afflicted ones, who lie Steeped to the lips in misery, Longing, yet afraid to die, Patient, though sorely tried!
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Love contending with friendship, and self with each generous impulse._x000D_ _x000D_ To and fro in his breast his thoughts were heaving and dashing,_x000D_ _x000D_ As in a foundering ship.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the internal conflict between love and friendship, and the struggle between self-interest and altruism.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's quote illustrates the tumultuous emotional state of a person torn between their feelings of love and the bond of friendship. It conveys the idea that these deep connections can lead to turmoil and inner conflict, similar to the chaos experienced on a sinking ship, as one grapples with competing desires and impulses.
Themes
LoveFriendshipConflictEmotionStruggle
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the complexities of human relationships, one might quote this to illustrate the emotional turmoil that can arise.
More from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All quotes βThere are moments in life, when the heart is so full of emotion That if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret, Spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered together.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
To be seventy years old is like climbing the Alps. You reach a snow-crowned summit, and see behind you the deep valley stretching miles and miles away, and before you other summits higher and whiter, which you may have strength to climb, or may not. Then you sit down and meditate and wonder which it will be.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
God is not dead; nor doth He sleep; ... _x000D_ The wrong shall fail,_x000D_ The right prevail,_x000D_ With peace on earth, good will to men.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
In the long run men hit only what they aim at.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Similar quotes
How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill? A kiss, and all was said.
Victor HugoRead
I know that you're selfish, selfish beyond words, and I know that you haven't the nerve of a rabbit, I know you're a liar and a humbug, I know that you're utterly contemptible. And the tragic part is'--her face was on a sudden distraught with pain--'the tragic part is that notwithstanding I love you with all my heart.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
God mark thee to His grace! Thou was the prettiest babe that e'er I nursed. And might I live to see thee married once, I have my wish.
William ShakespeareRead
You fall in love with somebody who fits within what I call your 'love map,' an unconscious list of traits that you build in childhood as you grow up. And I also think that you gravitate to certain people, actually, with somewhat complementary brain systems.
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Real men stay faithful. They don't have time to look for other women because they're too busy looking for new ways to love their own.
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We cannot love something solely because it has been ignored. It must also be worthy of our attention.
Zadie SmithRead