Great Throughts Treasury

"Adversity is the first path to truth."

"Sorrow is knowledge."

"A bargain is in its very essence a hostile transaction do not all men try to abate the price of all they buy? I contend that a bargain even between brethren is a declaration of war."

"A celebrity is one who is known to many persons he is glad he doesn't know."

"A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind."

"A change came o'er the spirit of my dream."

"A better farmer ne'er brushed dew from lawn, A worse king never left a realm undone!"

"A `strange coincidence', to use a phrase By which such things are settled nowadays."

"A crowd of shivering slaves of every nation, And age, and sex, were in the market rang'd; Each bevy with the merchant in his station: Poor creatures! their good looks were sadly chang'd; All save the blacks seem'd jaded with vexation, From friends, and home, and freedom far estrang'd. The negroes more philosophy display'd -- Used to it, no doubt, as eels are to be flay'd."

"A drop of ink may make a million think."

"A finished gentleman from top to toe."

"A heart well prepared for adversity in bad times hopes, and in good times fears for a change in fortune."

"A hand may first, and then a lip be kiss'd."

"A great poet belongs to no country; his works are public property, and his Memoirs the inheritance of the public."

"A lady with her daughters or her nieces, Shines like a guinea and seven shilling pieces."

"A lady of a "certain age," which means certainly aged."

"A land of meanness, sophistry and lust."

"A light broke in upon my brain, - It was the carol of a bird; It ceased, and then it came again, The sweetest song ear ever heard."

"A little curly-headed, good-for-nothing, And mischief-making monkey from his birth."

"A little stream came tumbling from the height, and struggling into ocean as it might. Its bounding crystal frolick'd in the ray, and gush'd from cliff to crag with saltless spray."

"A little still she strove, and much repented, and whispering I will ne'er consent—consented."

"A little tumult, now and then, is an agreeable quickener of sensation; such as a revolution, a battle, or an adventure of any lively description."

"A little while she strove, and much repented. And whispering 'I will ne'er consent, consented."

"A lovely being, scarcely formed or molded, a rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded."

"A long, long kiss, a kiss of youth, and love."

"A man is a god in ruins."

"A man is insensible to the relish of prosperity until he has tasted adversity."

"A man of eighty has outlived probably three new schools of painting, two of architecture and poetry and a hundred in dress."

"A man must serve his time to every trade save censure--critics all are ready made. Take hackney'd jokes from Miller, got by rote, With just enough of learning to misquote; A mind well skill'd to find or forge a fault; A turn for punning, call it Attic salt; To Jeffrey go, be silent and discreet, His pay is just ten sterling pounds per sheet; Fear not to lie, 'twill seem a lucky hit; Shrink not from blasphemy, 'twill pass for wit; Care not for feeling--pass your proper jest, And stand a critic, hated yet caress'd."

"A paler shadow strews Its mantle o'er the mountains; parting day Dies like a dolphin, whom each pang imbues With a new color as it gasps away The last still loveliest 'till--'tis gone--and all is grey."

"A mistress never is nor can be a friend. While you agree, you are lovers; and when it is over, anything but friends."

"A mighty mass of brick, and smoke, and shipping, Dirty and dusty, but as wide as eye Could reach, with here and there a sail just skipping In sight, then lost amidst the forestry Of masts; a wilderness of steeples peeping On tiptoe through their sea-coal canopy; A huge, dun cupola, like a foolscap crown On a fool's head--and there is London Town."

"A rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded."

"A schoolboy's tale, the wonder of an hour."

"A real spirit Should neither court neglect, nor dread to bear it."

"A pretty woman is a welcome guest."

"A quiet conscience makes one so serene! Christians have burnt each other, quite persuaded That all the Apostles would have done as they did."

"A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner."

"A single drop of ink is that which can make thousands think."

"A thirst for gold, the beggar's vice, which can but overwhelm the meanest hearts."

"A sword laid by, which eats into itself, and rusts ingloriously."

"A stumble may prevent a fall."

"A thousand years may scare form a state. An hour may lay it in ruins."

"A thousand hearts beat happily; and when music arose with its voluptuous swell, soft eyes look'd love to eyes which spake again, and all went merry as a marriage bell."

"A thousand years scarce serve to form a state; an hour may lay it in the dust."

"A woman being never at a loss... the devil always sticks by them."

"A tigress robb'd of young, a lioness, or any interesting beast of prey, are similes at hand for the distress of ladies who cannot have their own way."

"A timid mind is apt to mistake every scratch for a mortal wound."

"A woman who gives any advantage to a man may expect a lover -- but will sooner or later find a tyrant."

"A woman should never be seen eating or drinking, unless it be lobster salad and Champagne, the only true feminine and becoming viands."