106 Quotes by A.E. Housman

To stand up straight and tread the turning mill,To lie flat and know nothing and be still,Are the two trades of man; and which is worseI know not, but I know that both are ill.

Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose,But young men think it is, and we were young.

June suns, you cannot store themTo warm the winter's cold,The lad that hopes for heavenShall fill his mouth with mould.

You smile upon your friend to-day,To-day his ills are over;You hearken to the lover's say,And happy is the lover.'Tis late to hearken, late to smile, But better late than never:I shall have lived a little whileBefore I die for ever.

All knots that lovers tieAre tied to sever.Here shall your sweetheart lie,Untrue for ever.

Oh, God will save her, fear you not:Be you the men you've been,Get you the sons your fathers got,And God will save the Queen.

Who made the world I cannot tell;'Tis made, and here I am in hell.

It is no gift I tender,A loan is all I can;But do not scorn the lender;Man gets no more from man.Oh, mortal man may borrowWhat mortal man can lend;And ‘twill not end to-morrow,Though sure enough ‘twill end.If death and time are stronger,A love may yet be strong;The world will last for longer,But this will last for long.

Wanderers eastward, wanderers west, Know you why you cannot rest?'Tis that every mother's sonTravails with a skeleton.Lie down in the bed of dust;Bear the fruit that bear you must;Bring the eternal seed to light,And morn is all the same as night.