Walter Savage Landor
Walter Savage Landor
Walter Savage Landorwas an English writer and poet. His best known works were the prose Imaginary Conversations, and the poem Rose Aylmer, but the critical acclaim he received from contemporary poets and reviewers was not matched by public popularity. As remarkable as his work was, it was equalled by his rumbustious character and lively temperament...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth30 January 1775
humanity earth divine
There is nothing on earth divine except humanity.
oil childhood age
Study is the bane of childhood, the oil of youth, the indulgence of adulthood, and a restorative in old age.
kings greatness pedestal
The tomb is the pedestal of greatness. I make a distinction between God's great and the king's great.
strife quarrels
I strove with none; for none was worth my strife.
grace thrones kneeling
Piety--warm, soft, and passive as the ether round the throne of Grace--is made callous and inactive by kneeling too much.
learning grease delight
I delight in the diffusion of learning; yet, I must confess it, I am most gratified and transported at finding a large quantity of it in one place; just as I would rather have a solid pat of butter at breakfast, than a splash of grease upon the table-cloth that covers half of it.
sky rainbow shining
I see the rainbow in the sky, the dew upon the grass; I see them, and I ask not why they glimmer or they pass. With folded arms I linger not to call them back; 'twere vain: In this, or in some other spot, I know they'll shine again.
kings war play
Kings play at war unfairly with republics; they can only lose some earth, and some creatures they value as little, while republics lose in every soldier a part of themselves.
time dust sublime
The sublime is contained in a grain of dust.
looks easy difficulty
It is easy to look down on others; to look down on ourselves is the difficulty.
kings land democracy
Democracy is always the work of kings. Ashes, which in themselves are sterile, fertilize the land they are cast upon.
dancing together misery
I have suffered more from my bad dancing than from all the misfortunes and miseries of my life put together.
pace may steps
Friendship may sometimes step a few paces in advance of truth.
acceptance fate yield
We cannot conquer fate and necessity, yet we can yield to them in such a manner as to be greater than if we could.