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
There 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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote speaks about the overwhelming nature of human emotions and how a single word can lead to an irreversible expression of feelings.
Longfellow illustrates how deeply our emotions can run, suggesting that there are pivotal moments when our hearts are filled to the brim with feelings. In such instances, even a small trigger can cause those feelings to pour out uncontrollably, and once shared, they cannot be retracted or hidden away, much like spilled water that cannot be gathered back up.
Themes
EmotionHeartFeelingsWordsExpression
In practice
Example use cases
During a heartfelt moment in a speech about personal experiences.
More from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All quotes →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
The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Similar quotes
Funerals...are for the living.
John GreenRead
Here I am on the shore of Brittany. Let the cities light up in the evening. My day is done. I am leaving Europe. The sea air will burn my lungs. Lost climates will tan me. I will swim, trample the grass, hung, and smoke especially. I will drink alcohol as strong as boiling metal--just as my dear ancestors did around their fires.
Arthur RimbaudRead
My experience of life is that it is not divided up into genres; it’s a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you're lucky.
Alan MooreRead
There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.
Joseph ConradRead
I am 55 years old now. It takes three years to write one book. I don't know how many books I will be able to write before I die. It is like a countdown. So with each book I am praying - please let me live until I am finished.
Haruki MurakamiRead
I want to still be me when I wake up one fine morning and have breakfast at Tiffany´s.
Truman CapoteRead