Famous quotes containing the word earnest:
“Yet here at least an earnest sense
Of human right and weal is shown;
A hate of tyranny intense,
And hearty in its vehemence,
As if my brothers pain and sorrow were my own.
O Freedom! if to me belong
Nor mighty Miltons gift divine,
Nor Marvells wit and graceful song.
Still with a love as deep and strong
As theirs, I lay, like them, my best gifts on thy shrine!”
—John Greenleaf Whittier (18071892)
“That high All-seer which I dallied with
Hath turned my feigned prayer on my head,
And given in earnest what I begged in jest.”
—William Shakespeare (15641616)
“There are words in that letter to his wife, respecting the education of his daughters, which deserve to be framed and hung over every mantelpiece in the land. Compare this earnest wisdom with that of Poor Richard.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)