Let each man think himself an act of God,
His mind a thought, his life a breath of God;
And let each try, by great thoughts and good deeds,
To shew the most of Heaven he hath in him.
Quotations by:
Bailey, Philip James
We live in deeds, not years:
In thoughts, not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial.
We should count time by heart-throbs.
He most lives
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) English poet, lawyer
Festus, Sc. “A Country Town – Market-place – Noon” [Festus] (1839)
(Source)
Often misattributed to Aristotle.
Who never doubted never half believed
Where doubt there truth is — ’tis her shadowPhilip James Bailey (1816–1902) English poet, lawyer
Festus, Sc. “A Country Town – Market-place – Noon” [Lucifer] (1839)
(Source)
Man is a military animal,
Glories in gunpowder, and loves parade;
Prefers them to all things.Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) English poet, lawyer
Festus, Sc. “A Metropolis – Public Place” [Lucifer] (1839)
(Source)
Men might be better if we better deemed
Of them. The worst way to improve the world
Is to condemn it.Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) English poet, lawyer
Festus, Sc. “A Mountain – Sunrise” [Festus] (1839)
(Source)
There is a fire-fly in the southern clime
Which shineth only when upon the wing;
So it is with the mind: when once we rest,
We darken.Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) English poet, lawyer
Festus, Sc. “A Village Feast – Evening” [Festus] (1839)
(Source)
Usually paraphrased (earliest source (1872)):The firefly only shines when on the wing.
So is it with the mind -- when once we rest
We darken.
Worthy books
Are not companions — they are solitudes:
We lose ourselves in them and all our cares.Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) English poet, lawyer
Festus, Sc. “A Village Feast – Evening” [Student] (1839)
(Source)
Art is man’s nature; nature is God’s art.
America! half-brother of the world!
With something good and bad of every land.Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) English poet, lawyer
Festus, Sc. “The Surface” [Festus] (1839)
(Source)