To be born woman is to know - although they do not speak of it at school - women must labor to be beautiful. women
The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. best
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. education
I think it better that in times like these a poet's mouth be silent, for in truth we have no gift to set a statesman right. truth
The only business of the head in the world is to bow a ceaseless obeisance to the heart. business
Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends. friendship
Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing. happiness
I heard the old, old, men say 'all that's beautiful drifts away, like the waters.' men
We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry. poetry
Why should we honour those that die upon the field of battle? A man may show as reckless a courage in entering into the abyss of himself. courage & history
People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind. best & imagination
The light of lights looks always on the motive, not the deed, the shadow of shadows on the deed alone. being alone
I am of a healthy long lived race, and our minds improve with age. aging
Take, if you must, this little bag of dreams, Unloose the cord, and they will wrap you round. dreams
The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober. men
Wine comes in at the mouth And love comes in at the eye That's all we shall know for truth Before we grow old and die. romance & truth
If suffering brings wisdom, I would wish to be less wise. wisdom
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. dreams
Man can embody truth but he cannot know it. truth
Choose your companions from the best Who draws a bucket with the rest soon topples down the hill. best
Out of Ireland have we come, great hatred, little room, maimed us at the start. I carry from my mother's womb a fanatic heart. greatness
Nor dread nor hope attend a dying animal a man awaits his end dreading and hoping all. hope
One should not lose one's temper unless one is certain of getting more and more angry to the end. anger
The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time. time
But I, being poor, have only my dreams I have spread my dreams under your feet Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. dreams
The years like great black oxen tread the world, and God, the herdsman goads them on behind, and I am broken by their passing feet. God & greatness
Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy. St. Patrick's Day
In dreams begins responsibility. dreams