Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807-March 24, 1882)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807-March 24, 1882) was an American poet. He served for 20 years as Professor of Belles-Lettres at Harvard University, 1834-54. He wrote such poems as: Evangeline, 1847; The Song of Hiawatha, 1855; The Courtship of Miles Standish, 1858; and Paul Revere's Ride, 1861.

In his brother's Ordination Hymn, Longfellow wrote:

<Christ to the young man said:

"Yet one thing more:

If thou wouldst perfect be,

Sell all thou hast, and give it to the poor,

And come and follow me!"

Within this temple Christ again, unseen,

Those sacred words hath said,

And His invisible hands to-day have been

Laid upon a young man's head.

And evermore beside him on his way

The unseen Christ shall move,

That he may lean upon His arm and say,

"Dost Thou, dear Lord, approve?"

Beside him at the marriage feast shall be

To make the scene more fair:

Beside him in the dark Gethsemane

Of pain and midnight prayer.

O holy trust! O endless sense of rest!

Like the beloved John

To lay his head upon our Saviour's breast,

And thus to journey on.> 1807HL001

In 1861, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's wife died in a tragic accident when her dress caught on fire while she was preserving some hair clippings in wax.

Henry's son was injured in the spine during the Civil War.

On Christmas in 1863, Henry made no entry in his journal.

On Christmas Day in 1864, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wrote a poem he titled, "Christmas Bells":

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old familiar carols play

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good will to men

And thought how, as the day had come

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good will to men

Till, ringing, singing on its way

The world revolved from night to day

A voice, a chime

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good will to men

Then from each black accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good will to men

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good will to men

And in despair I bowed my head

There is no peace on earth, I said

For hate is strong

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep

God is not dead; nor doth he sleep

The Wrong shall fail

The Right prevail

With peace on earth, good will to men

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow remarked:

<Man is unjust, but God is just; and finally justice triumphs.> 1807HL002

<Nothing with God can be accidental.> 1807HL003

<For me, a line from mother is more efficacious than all the homilies preached in Lent.> 1807HL004

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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.

Endnotes:

1807HL001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, His Brother's Ordination Hymn. Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, OR: American Heritage Ministries, 1987; Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas), p. 292.

1807HL002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Bless Your Heart (series II) (Eden Prairie, MN: Heartland Sampler, Inc., 1990), 6.12.

1807HL003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Bless Your Heart (series II) (Eden Prairie, MN: Heartland Sampler, Inc., 1990), 12.17.

1807HL004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, statement. For Mothers (Heartland Samplers, Inc., 5555 W. 78th St. Suite P, Edina, MN, 55439, 1994), 4.8.


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