Of all sound of all bells... most solemn and touching is the peal which rings out the Old Year.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the emotional significance of the transition from one year to the next.
Charles Lamb emphasizes the poignant resonance of the bells that mark the end of a year, suggesting that this moment is steeped in solemnity and deep emotional reflection. The tolling bells serve as a reminder of the passage of time, evoking feelings of nostalgia and contemplation about both the experiences of the past year and the hopes for the new one.
In practice
This quote could be used to reflect during a New Year's Eve gathering.
Thus, when the lamp that lighted The traveller at first goes out, He feels awhile benighted, And looks around in fear and doubt. But soon, the prospect clearing, By cloudless starlight on he treads, And thinks no lamp so cheering As that light which Heaven sheds.
As down in the sunless retreats of the ocean Sweet flowers are springing no mortal can see, So deep in my soul the still prayer of devotion, Unheard by the world, rises silent to Thee. As still to the star of its worship, though clouded, The needle points faithfully o'er the dim sea, So dark when I roam in this wintry world shrouded, The hope of my spirit turns trembling to Thee.
The most mortifying infirmity in human nature, to feel in ourselves, or to contemplate in another, is perhaps cowardice.
Oh, ever thus, from childhood's hour, I 've seen my fondest hopes decay; I never loved a tree or flower But 't was the first to fade away. I never nurs'd a dear gazelle, To glad me with its soft black eye, But when it came to know me well And love me, it was sure to die.
May my last breath be drawn through a pipe, and exhaled in a jest.
A pun is not bound by the laws which limit nicer wit. It is a pistol let off at the ear; not a feather to tickle the intellect.
By surrendering my life to the revolution, I found eternal life
Creative ideas are often attacked because people oppose change or do not understand new concepts.
Be not deceived. Revolutions do not go backward.
We are tapping into what the world wants: to be a part of change.
Churchgoers in America are notorious for jumping into movements, even ideas that are hard to listen to. But when they actually have to change their lifestyle and do something about it, it rarely translates into action.
By changing nothing, nothing changes.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.