Martin Farquhar Tupper Quotes

The sun of the mind, and the life of the heart is Wisdom. She is pure and full of light, crowning grey hairs with lustre, And kindling the eye of youth with a fire not its own.

Power is seldom innocent, and envy is the yokefellow of eminence.

How beautiful is modesty! It winneth upon all beholders; but a word or a glance may destroy the pure love that should have been for thee.

A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men.

Error is a hardy plant; it flourisheth in every coil; In the heart of the wise and good, alike with the wicked and foolish; For there is no error so crooked, but it hath in it some lines of truth.

Thou hast seen many sorrows, travel-stained pilgrim of the world, But that which hath vexed thee most, hath been the looking for evil; And though calamities have crossed thee, and misery been heaped on thy head, Yet ills that never happened, have chiefly made thee wretched.

Thought paceth like a hoary sage, but imagination hath wings as an eagle.

If wealth come, beware of him, the smooth, false friend! There is treachery in his proffered hand; his tongue is eloquent to tempt; lust of many harms is lurking in his eye; he hath a hollow heart; use him cautiously.

Yet is beauty the pleasing trickery that cheateth half the world.

A man looketh on his little one as a being of better hope; in himself ambition is dead, but it bath a resurrection in his son.

Alike to the slave and his oppressor cometh night with sweet refreshment, and half of the life of the most wretched is gladdened by the soothings of sleep.

Never give up! If adversity presses, Providence wisely has mingled the cup, And the best counsel, in all your distresses, Is the stout watchword of "Never give up."

Man liveth from hour to hour, and knoweth not what may happen; Influences circle him on all sides, and yet must he answer for his actions: For the being that is master of himself, bendeth events to his will, But a slave to selfish passions is the wavering creature of circumstance.

In the morning of life, before its wearisome journey, The youthful soul doth expand, in the simple luxury of being; It hath not contracted its wishes, nor set a limit on its hopes; The wing of fancy is unclipped, and sin hath not seared the feelings: Each feature is stamped with immortality, for all its desires are infinite, And it seeketh an ocean of happiness, to fill the deep hollow within.

He who commits a wrong will himself inevitably see the writing on the wall, though the world may not count him guilty.

As thou directest the power, harm or advantage will follow, and the torrent that swept the valley may be led to turn a mill.

Hope and be happy that all's for the best!

Memory is not wisdom ; idiots can rote volumes :
Yet, what is wisdom without memory ? a babe that is strangled in its birth ;
The path of the swallow in the air ; the path of the dolphin in the waters ;
A cask running out ; a bottomless chasm : such is wisdom without memory.
There be many wise, who cannot store their knowledge ;
Yet from themselves are they satisfied, for the fountain is within :

Lies can destroy, but not create.

The seeds of first instructions are dropp'd into the deepest furrows.

Love
what a volume in a word, an ocean in a tear, A seventh heaven in a glance, a whirlwind in a sigh, The lightning in a touch, a millennium in a moment, What concentrated joy or woe in blest or blighted love! For it is that native poetry springing up indigenous to Mind, The heart's own-country music thrilling all its chords, The story without an end that angels throng to hear, The word, the king of words, carved on Jehovah's heart!

How dear to the mind of the sage are the thoughts that are bred in loneliness; for there is as it were music at his heart, and he talketh within him as with friends.

Deceit and treachery skulk with hatred, but an honest spirit flieth with anger.

A letter, timely writ, is a rivet to the chain of affection;
And a letter, untimely delayed, is as rust to the solder.

Praise a fool, and slay him; for the canvas of his vanity is spread; His bark is shallow in the water, and a sudden gust shall sink it: Praise a wise man, and speed him on his way; for he carrieth the ballast of humility, And is glad when his course is cheered by the sympathy of brethren ashore.

Not few nor light are the burdens of life; then load it not with heaviness of spirit.

Wealth oft-times killeth, where want but hindered the budding.

As frost to the bud, and blight to the blossom, even such is self-interest to friendship; for confidence cannot dwell where selfishness is porter at the gate.

To-morrow is that lamp upon the marsh, which a traveller never reacheth;
To-morrow, the rainbow's cup, coveted prize of ignorance;
To-morrow, the shifting anchorage, dangerous trust of manners;
To-morrow, the wrecker's beacon, wily snare of the destroyer.
Reconcile conviction with delay, and To-morrow is a fatal lie;
Frighten resolutions into action, To-morrow is a wholesome truth.

Extravagance is the rich man's pitfall.

Labour is good for a man, bracing up his energies to conquest, And without it life is dull, the man perceiving himself useless.

It is the cringer to his equal that is chiefly seen bold to his God.

Search out the wisdom of nature, there is depth in all her doings; she seemeth prodigal of power, yet her rules are the maxims of frugality.

Economy, the poor man's mint.

A babe in a house is a well-spring of pleasure.

Lay not the plummet to the line; religion hath no landmarks; no human keenness can discern the subtle shades of faith.

The most wretched have yet hope.

If thou wilt think evil of thy neighbour, soon shalt thou have him for thy foe.

If the mind is wearied by study, or the body worn with sickness,It is well to lie fallow for a while, in the vacancy of sheer amusement ;But when thou prosprest in health, and thine intellect can soar untired,To seek uninstructive pleasure is to slumber on the couch of indolence.

For life, good youth, hath never an illWhich hope cannot scatter, and faith cannot kill;And stubborn realities never shall bindThe free-spreading wings of a cheerful mind.

Nature is the chart of God, mapping out all His attributes.

Ridicule is a weak weapon when pointed at a strong mind; but common people are cowards and dread an empty laugh.

Look too on this poor planet of ours,
Torn by the storms of mysterious powers,
Evil contending with good from its birth,
Wrenching in battle the heartstrings of earth,
Ah! what infinities circle us here,
Strangeness and wonderment swathing the sphere!

Anger is a noble infirmity; the generous failing of the just; the one degree that riseth above zeal, asserting the prerogative of virtue.

Deep is the sea, and deep is hell, but pride mineth deeper; it is coiled as a poisonous worm about the foundations of the soul.

Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscle of omnipotence.

Betray mean terror of ridicule, thou shalt find fools enough to mock thee; but answer thou their language with contempt, and the scoffers will lick thy feet.

O Death, what are thou? nurse of dreamless slumbers freshening the fevered flesh to a wakefulness eternal.

Every green herb, from the lotus to the darnel, is rich with delicate aids to help incurious man.

Hatred is the atmosphere of hell.

There is not unmitigated ill in the sharpest of this world's sorrows; I touch not the sore of thy guilt; but of human griefs I counsel thee, Cast off the weakness of regret, and gird thee to redeem thy loss: Thou has gained, in the furnace of affliction, self-knowledge, patience and humility, And these be as precious ore, that waiteth the skill of the coiner: Despise not the blessings of adversity, nor the gain thou hast earned so hardly, And now thou hast drained the bitter, take heed that thou lose not the sweet.

Reason refuseth its homage to a God who can be fully understood.

Let the misanthrope shun men and abjure; the most are rather lovable than hateful.

He who does not tire, tires adversity.

Contend not in wisdom with a fool, for thy sense maketh much of his conceit; And some errors never would have thriven, had it not been for learned refutation.

Many a beggar at the crossway, or gray-haired shepherd on the plain, hath more of the end of all wealth than hundreds who multiply the means.

Happiness is a roadside flower growing on the highways of usefulness; plucked, it shall wither in thy hand; passed by, it is fragrance to thy spirit. Trample the thyme beneath thy feet; be useful, be happy.

A spark is a little thing, yet it may kindle the world.

Clamorous pauperism feastest
While honest Labor, pining, hideth his sharp ribs.

Age hath its quiet calm, and youth enjoyeth not for haste.

God, from a beautiful necessity, is Love.

Who can wrestle against Sleep? - Yet is that giant very gentleness.

Pain adds rest unto pleasure, and teaches the luxury of health.

Rashly, nor ofttimes truly, doth man pass judgment on his brother; for he seeth not the springs of the heart, nor heareth the reasons of the mind.

Wealth hath never given happiness, but often hastened misery.

Spurn not a seeming error, but dig below its surface for the truth.

Speech is the golden harvest that followeth the flowering of thought.

Take the good with the evil, for ye all are pensioners of God, and none may choose or refuse the cup His wisdom mixeth.

A man too careful of danger liveth in continual torment, But a cheerful expecter of the best hath a fountain of joy within him.

One single glance will conquer all descriptions.

Invention is activity of mind, as fire is air in motion; a sharpening of the spiritual sight, to discern hidden aptitudes.

A juggler's skill hath been long years alearning.

Well timed silence has more eloquence than speech.

Memory is not wisdom; idiots can by rote repeat volumes. Yet what is wisdom without memory?

True wisdom, laboring to expound, heareth others readily;
False wisdom, sturdy to deny, closeth up her mind to argument.

Law hath dominion over all things, over universal mind and matter; For there are reciprocities of rights, which no creature can gainsay.

Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.

Knowledge is leagued with the universe, and findeth a friend in all things; but ignorance is everywhere a stranger, unwelcome; ill at ease and out of place.

The wise man knoweth where to stop, as he runneth in the race of fortune, For experience of old hath taught him, that happiness lingered midway; And many in hot pursuit have hasted to the goal of wealth, But have lost, as they ran, those apples of gold
the mind and the power to enjoy it.

To despond is to lie ungrateful beforehand. Be not looking for evil. Often thou drainest the gall of fear while evil is passing by thy dwelling.

A good book is the best of friends, the same today and for ever.

Who shall guess what I may be?Who can tell my fortune to me?For, bravest and brightest that ever was sungMay be - and shall be - the lot of the young!

The mines of knowledge are often laid bare by the hazel-wand of chance.

It is well to lie fallow for a while.

He that is ambitious for his son, should give him untried names,
For those have serv'd other men, haply may injure by their evils;
Or otherwise may hinder by their glories; therefore set him by himself,
To win for his individual name some clear praise.

Never give up! it is wiser and betterAlways to hope, than once to despair.Fling off the load of Doubt's cankering fetter,And break the dark spell of tyrannical care.

None is poor but the mean in mind, the timorous, the weak, and unbelieving; none is wealthy but the affluent in soul, who is satisfied and floweth over.