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
What seems to us but dim funeral tapers may be heaven's distant lamps.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that what appears to us as mere darkness or loss may actually be guiding lights toward something greater beyond our understanding.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's quote conveys the idea that the struggles and challenges we perceive in life, represented metaphorically as 'dim funeral tapers,' can actually serve as guiding beacons, or 'heaven's distant lamps.' It encourages us to look beyond our immediate hardships and recognize that there may be a greater purpose or light that we cannot yet see, suggesting a sense of hope and perspective in the face of adversity.
Themes
HopePerspectiveStruggleLightGuidance
In practice
Example use cases
During a graduation speech, one might use this quote to inspire students facing uncertainties.
More from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All quotes →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.
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
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