James Russell Lowell

James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowellwas an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets. These poets usually used conventional forms and meters in their poetry, making them suitable for families entertaining at their fireside...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth22 February 1819
CountryUnited States of America
summer sunset snow
Our seasons have no fixed returns, Without our will they come and go; At noon our sudden summer burns, Ere sunset all is snow.
fall rain sunset
The ash her purple drops forgivingly And sadly, breaking not the general hush; The maple swamps glow like a sunset sea, Each leaf a ripple with its separate flush; All round the wood's edge creeps the skirting blaze, Ere the rain falls, the cautious farmer burns his brush.
education knowledge desire
To educate the intelligence is to expand the horizon of its wants and desires.
brave literature weak
Fortune is the rod of the weak, and the staff of the brave.
form government man
Democracy is the form of government that gives every man the right to be his own oppressor.
feels less lovely man sentiments weigh
Every man feels instinctively that all the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action.
democracy man
Democracy give every man the right to be his own oppressor.
faces grows life milestones near road runs strange
As life runs on, the road grows strange with faces new -- and near the end. The milestones into headstones change, Neath every one a friend.
mastered reading whatever worth wound
A reading machine, always wound up and going, he mastered whatever was not worth the knowing.
attribute good skepticism wise
A wise skepticism is the first attribute of a good critic.
god strong dark
Darkness is strong, and so is Sin, But surely God endures forever!
expression giving form
New conditions of life will stimulate thought and give new forms to its expression.
hands devil weapons
A sneer is the weapon of the weak. Like other devil's weapons, it is always cunningly ready to our hand, and there is more poison in the handle than in the point.
book practice class
It is quite too common a practice, both in readers and the more superficial class of critics, to judge a book by what it is not, a matter much easier to determine than what it is.