Tag Archives: Project Gutenberg
The Future
The Second Coming by W.B. Yeats Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are …
Come, come!
Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshipper, lover of living, it doesn’t matter Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come even if you have broken your vow a thousand times, Come, yet again, come, come. WikiQuote has a large collection of sourced Rumi poems and quotes, which is available on the web HERE. Project …
Who Are You?
Excerpted from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, ©1865: She stretched herself up on tiptoe, and peeped over the edge of the mushroom, and her eyes immediately met those of a large blue caterpillar, that was sitting on the top with its arms folded, quietly smoking a long hookah, and taking not the smallest …
The Devil’s Dictionary
Excerpted from The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, ©1906: PRESENT, n. That part of eternity dividing the domain of disappointment from the realm of hope. PRESIDENT, n. The leading figure in a small group of men of whom– and of whom only– it is positively known that immense numbers of their countrymen did not want …
Stumbles
From Galatians 6:1-2: Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran: …
Love
Language has changed a lot since 1611. The King James version of the bible is my favorite because of its poetry and grandeur, but it’s important to know that what was translated as “charity” 410 years ago would be translated as “love” today. 1 Corinthians 13: Though I speak with the tongues of men and …
Tea
Excerpted from Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust: After waiting a minute, I would go in and kiss her; Françoise would be making her tea; or, if my aunt felt agitated, she would ask instead for her tisane, and it would be my duty to shake out of the chemist’s little package on to a plate …
Fresh Triviality
“The fault I find with our journalism is that it forces us to take an interest in some fresh triviality or other every day, whereas only three or four books in a lifetime give us anything that is of real importance.” ~Marcel Proust Proust’s books are in the public domain, but often only in the …
Violent Delights
Excerpted from Romeo and Juliet: These violent delights have violent ends, And in their triumph die; like fire and powder, Which as they kiss consume. Romeo and Juliet is in the public domain, as are all of William Shakespeare’s works, and may be downloaded or read online for free at Project Gutenberg, HERE.
Perspectives
“O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us / To see oursels as ithers see us!” ~Robert Burns -·- “Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” ~Henry David Thoreau, in Walden ©1854 Walden is in the public domain and may be downloaded or read …
Won’t They, Comrade?
Paul Laurence Dunbar had a sense of rhythm very similar to Rudyard Kipling. His works are in the public domain and may be downloaded freely from Project Gutenberg, HERE. There are multiple formats available, including EPUB, Kindle, plain text, and HTML for on-line reading. The Voice of the Banjoby Paul Laurence Dunbar In a small …
Gallant
For The Man Who Fails by Paul Laurence Dunbar The world is a snob, and the man who wins Is the chap for its money’s worth: And the lust for success causes half of the sins That are cursing this brave old earth. For it ‘s fine to go up, and the world’s applause Is …
But Is That All?
The Sum Paul Laurence Dunbar A little dreaming by the way, A little toiling day by day; A little pain, a little strife, A little joy,–and that is life. A little short-lived summer’s morn, When joy seems all so newly born, When one day’s sky is blue above, And one bird sings,–and that is love. …
When All Is Done
When All Is Doneby Paul Laurence Dunbar When all is done, and my last word is said,And ye who loved me murmur, “He is dead,”Let no one weep, for fear that I should know,And sorrow too that ye should sorrow so. When all is done and in the oozing clay,Ye lay this cast-off hull of …
No Matter How Hopeless
The appeal of Don Quixote eludes me. It’s the story of a mentally ill man and his mentally ill enabler who travel the countryside upsetting people and getting the hell beat out of them. I’m not charmed. But without the book we wouldn’t have the musical, and without the musical we wouldn’t have one of …
Time
Excerpted from Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, ©1922: “Did you,” so he asked him at one time, “did you too learn that secret from the river: that there is no time?” Vasudeva’s face was filled with a bright smile. “Yes, Siddhartha,” he spoke. “It is this what you mean, isn’t it: that the river is everywhere …
Inscrutable
Excerpt from Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley, ©1917: Rolling cloud, volleying wind, and wheeling sun– the blue tabernacle of sky, the circle of the seasons, the sparkling multitude of the stars– all these are surely part on one rhythmic, mystic whole. Everywhere, as we go about our small business, we must discern the fingerprints …
Laugh, And / Weep, And
I was familiar with the first two lines, but didn’t know that it came from a longer poem: Solitude By Ella Wheeler Wilcox Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own. Sing, and the hills …
Dash
I heard a Fly buzz – when I died By Emily Dickinson I heard a Fly buzz – when I died – The Stillness in the Room Was like the Stillness in the Air – Between the Heaves of Storm – The Eyes around – had wrung them dry – And Breaths were gathering firm …
Me, too.
“He held himself to standards that left him discontented with himself.” ~Leo Rosten, about Michel de Montaigne Michel de Montaigne’s writings are in the public domain, and may be downloaded or read online for free at Project Gutenberg, HERE.
Abbie's Tree House 