Whence is thy learning? Hath thy toil
O'er books consumed the midnight oil?
Fables: The Shepherd and the Philosopher. J. GAY.
And thou art worthy; full of power;
As gentle; liberal-minded, great,
Consistent; wearing all that weight
Of learning lightly like a flower.
In Memoriam: Conclusion. A. TENNYSON.
Small have continual plodders ever won,
Save base authority from others' books.
These earthly godfathers of heaven's lights,
That give a name to every fixed star,
Have no more profit of their shining nights
Than those that walk, and wot not what they are.
Love's Labor's Lost, Act i. Sc. 1. SHAKESPEARE.
Love seldom haunts the breast where learning lies,
And Venus sets ere Mercury can rise.
The Wife of Bath: Her Prologue. A. POPE.
Here the heart
May give a useful lesson to the head,
And learning wiser grow without his books.
The Task, Bk. VI. Winter Walk at Noon. W. COWPER.
Learning by study must be won;
'Twas ne'er entailed from son to son.
The Pack Horse and Carrier. J. GAY.
Much learning shows how little mortals know;
Much wealth, how little worldlings can enjoy.
Night Thoughts, Night VI. DR. E. YOUNG.
Were man to live coeval with the sun.
The patriarch-pupil would be learning still.
Night Thoughts, Night VII. DR. E. YOUNG.
LETTERS.
Kind messages, that pass from land to land;
Kind letters, that betray the heart's deep history,
In which we feel the pressure of a hand,—
One touch of fire,—and all the rest is mystery!
The Seaside and the Fireside: Dedication. H.W. LONGFELLOW.