The little that we do Is but half-nobly true; With our labo… - James Russell Lowell

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The little that we do
Is but half-nobly true;
With our laborious hiving
What men call treasure, and the gods call dross,
Life seems a jest of Fate's contriving,
Only secure in every one's conniving,
A long account of nothings paid with loss.

James Russell Lowell

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About James Russell Lowell

James Russell Lowell (22 February 1819 – 12 August 1891) was 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.

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Also Known As

Alternative Names: Hugh Perceval • James R. Lowell • James Lowell

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John Dryden Walter Scott Oliver Wendell Holmes William Cowper Alexander Pope

Additional quotes by James Russell Lowell

In creating, the only hard thing's to begin;
A grass-blade's no easier to make than an oak,
If you've once found the way you've achieved the grand stroke.

Ez to my princerples, I glory
In hevin' nothin' o' the sort.

Some day the soft Ideal that we wooed
Confronts us fiercely, foe-beset, pursued,
And cries reproachful: “Was it then my praise,
And not myself was loved? Prove now thy truth;
I claim of thee the promise of thy youth.

The little that we do Is but half-nobly true; With our laborious hiving What men call treasure, and the gods call dross, Life seems a jest of Fate's … - James Russell Lowell

About James Russell Lowell

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