Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Name: Flower-de-Luce
Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Flower-de-Luce (1867)

Summary

“Flower-de-Luce”, published in 1867, is a work by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It explores elements such as Lynn, pleasance and pulsation.

Quotes from Flower-de-Luce (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce (1867)

“ It breathes no more, its heart has no pulsation;
In the dark places with the dead of old
⁠It lies forever cold!"
Then said I, "From its consecrated cerements
I will not drag this sacred dust again,
⁠Only to give me pain;
But, still remembering all the lost endearments,
Go on my way, like one who looks before,
⁠And turns to weep no more."
Into what land of harvests, what plantations
Bright with autumnal foliage and the glow
⁠Of sunsets burning low;
Beneath what midnight skies, whose constellations
Light up the spacious avenues between
⁠This world and the unseen! ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce (1867)

“ Till it reached a heart that ceased to beat
Without a murmur, without a cry;
And a bell was tolled, in that far-off town,
For one who had passed from cross to crown,
And the neighbors wondered that she should die. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce (1867)

“ THE BELLS OF LYNN,
HEARD AT NAHANT.
O CURFEW of the setting sun! O Bells of Lynn!
O requiem of the dying day! O Bells of Lynn!
From the dark belfries of yon cloud-cathedral wafted,
Your sounds aerial seem to float, O Bells of Lynn!
Borne on the evening wind across the crimson twilight,
O'er land and sea they rise and fall, O Bells of Lynn!
The fisherman in his boat, far out beyond the headland,
Listens, and leisurely rows ashore, O Bells of Lynn!
Over the shining sands the wandering cattle homeward
Follow each other at your call, O Bells of Lynn! ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce (1867)

“ And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
⁠"For hate is strong,
⁠And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep! ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce (1867)

“ Born to the purple, born to joy and pleasance,
⁠Thou dost not toil nor spin,
But makest glad and radiant with thy presence
⁠The meadow and the lin.
The wind blows, and uplifts thy drooping banner,
⁠And round thee throng and run
The rushes, the green yeomen of thy manor,
⁠The outlaws of the sun. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce (1867)

“ And I cross them, little heeding
⁠Blast of wind or torrent's roar,
As I follow the receding
⁠Footsteps that have gone before.
Naught avails the imploring gesture,
⁠Naught avails the cry of pain!
When I touch the flying vesture,
⁠'T is the gray robe of the rain. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce (1867)

“ On jewels that gleamed like a glow-worm's spark,
Or the eyes of a panther in the dark.
"I said to the Kalif: 'Thou art old,
Thou hast no need of so much gold.
Thou shouldst not have heaped and hidden it here,
Till the breath of battle was hot and near,
But have sown through the land these useless hoards
To spring into shining blades of swords,
And keep thine honor sweet and clear.
These grains of gold are not grains of wheat ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce (1867)

“ HOW many lives, made beautiful and sweet
⁠By self-devotion and by self-restraint,
⁠Whose pleasure is to run without complaint
⁠On unknown errands of the Paraclete,
Wanting the reverence of unshodden feet,
⁠Fail of the nimbus which the artists paint
⁠Around the shining forehead of the saint,
⁠And are in their completeness incomplete! ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce (1867)

“ There in seclusion and remote from men
⁠The wizard hand lies cold,
Which at its topmost speed let fall the pen,
⁠And left the tale half told.
Ah! who shall lift that wand of magic power,
⁠And the lost clew regain? ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce (1867)

“ Those who walk with feet of air
⁠Leave no long-enduring marks;
At God's forges incandescent
Mighty hammers beat incessant,
⁠These are but the flying sparks.
"Dust are all the hands that wrought;
Books are sepulchres of thought ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce (1867)

“ To-morrow! the mysterious, unknown guest,
⁠Who cries to me: "Remember Barmecide,
⁠And tremble to be happy with the rest."
And I make answer: "I am satisfied;
⁠I dare not ask; I know not what is best ”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Summary

Quotes from Flower-de-Luce (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

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