Henry Van Dyke - Biography

Biography

Henry van Dyke was born on November 10, 1852 in Germantown, Pennsylvania in the United States. He graduated from Princeton University in 1873 and from Princeton Theological Seminary, 1877 and served as a professor of English literature at Princeton between 1899 and 1923. In 1908-09 Dr. van Dyke was an American lecturer at the University of Paris. By appointment of President Wilson he became Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 1913. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and received many other honors. Van Dyke was an "ardent foe of the annexation of the Philippines, told his congregation in 1898, 'If we enter the course of foreign conquest, the day is not far distant when we must spend in annual preparation for wars more than the $180,000,000 that we now spend every year in the education of our children for peace.'"

He chaired the committee that wrote the first Presbyterian printed liturgy, The Book of Common Worship of 1906. Among his popular writings are the two Christmas stories, The Other Wise Man (1896) and The First Christmas Tree (1897). Various religious themes of his work are also expressed in his poetry, hymns and the essays collected in Little Rivers (1895) and Fisherman’s Luck (1899). He wrote the lyrics to the popular hymn, "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" (1907), sung to the tune of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy". He compiled several short stories in The Blue Flower (1902), named after the key symbol of Romanticism introduced first by Novalis. He also contributed a chapter to the collaborative novel, The Whole Family (1908). Among his poems is "Katrina's Sundial", the inspiration for the song, "Time Is", by the group It's a Beautiful Day on their eponymous 1969 debut album. Furthermore, the lyrics of a song — entitled "Time", sung by Mark Masri — are mostly inspired by the following quote, written by Henry van Dyke: "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". A biography of Van Dyke, titled Henry Van Dyke: A Biography, was written by his son Tertius van Dyke and published in 1935.

List of Works: Short Stories

• Among The Quantock Hills from 'Days Off And Other Digressions'
• Antwerp Road
• Art Of Leaving Off, The from 'Days Off And Other Digressions'
• Ashes of Vengeance (half-told tale)
• Beggars Under The Bush
• Between The Lupin And The Laurel from 'Days Off And Other Digressions'
• Blue Flower, The
• Books That I Loved As A Boy from 'Days Off And Other Digressions'
• Boy of Nazareth Dreams, The
• Brave Heart, A from 'The Ruling Passion' collection
• Broken Soldier and the Maid of France, The
• Change Of Air, A
• City of Refuge, A
• Classic Instance, A
• Countersign Of The Cradle, The
• Days Off from 'Days Off And Other Digressions'
• Diana And The Lions A half-told tale
• Dream-story: The Christmas Angel, A
• Effectual Fervent Prayer, The
• First Christmas-Tree, The
• Friend of Justice, A from 'The Ruling Passion' collection
• Gentle Life, The from 'The Ruling Passion' collection
• Handful Of Clay, A
• Hearing Ear, The
• Hero and Tin Soldiers, The
• His Other Engagement from 'Days Off And Other Digressions'
• Holiday In A Vacation, A from 'Days Off And Other Digressions'
• Humoreske
• In The Odour Of Sanctity
• Justice of the Elements half-told tale
• Keeper of the Light, The from 'The Ruling Passion' collection
• Key Of The Tower, The
• King's High Way, The
• King's Jewel, The
• Leviathan from 'Days Off And Other Digressions'
• Little Red Tom from 'Days Off And Other Digressions'
• Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago, The A Christmas Legend of Long Ago
• Lover of Music, A from 'The Ruling Passion' collection
• Mansion, The Christmas story
• Messengers At The Window
• Mill, The
• Music-Lover, The
• New Era and Carry On, The (half-told tale)
• Night Call, The
• Notions About Novels from 'Days Off And Other Digressions'
• Old Game, An
• Other Wise Man, The
• Out~Of~Doors In The Holy Land
• Primitive and His Sandals, The (half-told tale)
• Remembered Dream, A
• Return Of The Charm, The
• Reward of Virtue, The from 'The Ruling Passion' collection
• Ripening Of The Fruit, The
• Sad Shepherd, The Christmas story
• Salvage Point
• Sanctuary of Trees, A
• Silverhorns from Boy Scouts Book of Campfire Stories
• Sketches of Quebec
• Some Remarks On Gulls from 'Days Off And Other Digressions'
• Source, The
• Spy Rock
• Stronghold
• Traitor in the House, The (half-told tale)
• Unruly Sprite, The A Partial Fairy Tale
• Wedding-Ring, The
• What Peace Means
• White Blot, The (from The Ruling Passion collection)
• Wood-Magic
• Year of Nobility, A (from The Ruling Passion collection)