Top 146 Quotes & Sayings by Henry Van Dyke

To desire and strive to be of some service to the world, to aim at doing something which shall really increase the happiness and welfare and virtue of mankind - this is a choice which is possible for all of us; and surely it is a good haven to sail for.

It is with rivers as it is with people: the greatest are not always the most agreeable nor the best to live with.

Half of the secular unrest and dismal, profane sadness of modern society comes from the vain ideas that every man is bound to be a critic for life.

What you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are will be yours forever.

Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.

A friend is what the heart needs all the time.

There is only one way to get ready for immortality, and that is to love this life and live it as bravely and faithfully and cheerfully as we can.

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.

Genius is talent set on fire by courage.

Love is the best thing in the world, and the thing that lives the longest.

As long as habit and routine dictate the pattern of living, new dimensions of the soul will not emerge.

Look around for a place to sow a few seeds.

Happiness is inward, and not outward; and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.

Culture is the habit of being pleased with the best and knowing why.

In the progress of personality, first comes a declaration of independence, then a recognition of interdependence.

There are two good rules which ought to be written on every heart - never to believe anything bad about anybody unless you positively know it to be true; never to tell even that unless you feel that it is absolutely necessary, and that God is listening.

There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament.

Many a treasure besides Ali Baba's is unlocked with a verbal key.

Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love, to work, to play, and to look up at the stars.

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.

Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live.

What we do belongs to what we are; and what we are is what becomes of us.

There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher.

A peace that depends on fear is nothing but a suppressed war.

We may be able to tell how many stars are in the Milky Way; we may be able to count the petals of every flower, and number the bones of every bird; but unless faith leads us to a deeper understanding, a more reverent comprehension of the significance of the universe, God can be no more pleased with our knowledge than the painter is pleased with the fly which touches his picture with its feelers, and sips the varnish from the surface, and dies without dreaming of the meaning, thought, feeling, embodied in the colors.

It is better to burn the candle at both ends, and in the middle, too, than to put it away in the closet and let the mice eat it.

It is better to desire the things we have than to have the things we desire.

This is the soldier brave enough to tellThe glory-dazzled world that "war is hell":Lover of peace, he looks beyond the strife,And rides through hell to save his country's life.

There are many kinds of love, as many kinds of light, And every kind of love makes a glory in the night. There is love that stirs the heart, and love that gives it rest, But the love that leads life upward is the noblest and the best.

The strength of your life is measured by the strength of your will.

We measure success by accumulation. The measure is false. The true measure is appreciation. He who loves most has most.

be gl?d of life, bec?use it gives you the ch?nce to love ?nd to work ?nd to pl?y ?nd to look up ?t the st?rs; to be s?tisfied with your posessions, to despise nothing in the world except f?lsehood ?nd me?nness ?nd to fe?r nothing except cow?rdice; to be governed by your ?dmir?tions r?ther th?n by your disgusts, to covet nothing th?t is your neighbour's except his kindness of he?rt ?nd gentleness of m?nners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends and to spend ?s much time ?s you c?n with body ?nd with spirit.

A tear that trembles for a little while Upon the trembling eyelid, till the world Wavers within its circle like a dream, Holds more of meaning in its narrow orb Than all the distant landscape that it blurs.

You can never begin to live until you dare to die.

Those who would see wonderful things must often be ready to travel alone.

It is better to follow even the shadow of the best, than to remain content with the worst.

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, God of glory, Lord of Love; Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, vale and mountain, Flowery meadow, flashing sea, Chanting bird and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee.

Love that leads life upward is the noblest and the best.

A river is the most human and companionable of all inanimate things. It has a life, a character, a voice of its own; and it is as full of good fellowship as a sugar maple is of sap. It can talk in various tones, loud or low, and of many subjects grave and gay.... For real company and friendship there is nothing, outside of the animal kingdom, that is comparable to a river.

Favorite People, Favorite Places, Favorite Memories of the past ... These are the joys of a lifetime Those are the things that last

There is no conflict between the Old and the New; the conflict is between the False and the True.

Hours fly, Flowers die: New days, New ways: Pass by! Love stays.

Every house where love abides And friendship is a guest, Is surely home, and home sweet home For there the heart can rest.

If all the skies were sunshine Our faces would be fain To feel once more upon them The cooling splash of rain. If all the world were music, Our hearts would often long For one sweet strain of silence, To break the endless song If life were always merry, Our souls would seek relief, And rest from weary laughter In the quiet arms of grief.

Love is not getting, but giving; It is goodness, and honor, and peace and pure living.

Come, my friend, forget your foes, and leave your fears behind, And wander forth to try your luck, with cheerful, quiet mind; For be your fortune great or small, you take what God will give, And all the day your heart will say, "'Tis luck enough to live.

Time is: Too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear.

Love is the heart s immortal thirst to be completely known and all forgiven.

Gratitude is a two fold love - love coming to visit us, and love running out to greet a welcome guest.

Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to.

And you will remember that love is not getting, but giving; not a wild dream of pleasure, and a madness of desire — oh no, love is not that — it is goodness, and honour, and peace, and pure living — yes, love is that; and it is the best thing in the world, and the thing that lives longest.

A clean and sensitive conscience, a steady and scrupulous integrity in small things as well as large, is the most valuable of all possessions, to a nation as to an individual.

These are the things I prize And hold of dearest worth: Light of the sapphire skies, Peace of the silent hills, Shelter of the forests, comfort of the grass, Music of birds, murmur of little rills, Shadows of cloud that swiftly pass, And, after showers, The smell of flowers And of the good brown earth,- And best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth.

Faith is an adventure; it is the courage of the soul to face the unknown. But that courage springs from the hope and confidence of the soul that its adventure will succeed.

Some people are so afraid do die that they never begin to live.

The best rose-bush, after all, is not that which has the fewest thorns, but that which bears the finest roses.

Be grateful for the tiny details of your life and make room for unexpected and beautiful blessings.

Heaven often seems distant and unknown, but if He who made the road... is our guide, we need not fear to lose the way.

Who seeks for heaven alone to save his soul, May keep the path, but will not reach the goal; While he who walks in love may wander far, Yet God will bring him where the blessed are.