62 Quotes by William Allingham

By the craggy hill-side,Through the mosses bare,They have planted thorn-treesFor pleasure here and there.If any man so daringAs dig them up in spite,He shall find their sharpest thornsIn his bed at night.

Up the airy mountain,Down the rushy glen,We daren't go a-huntingFor fear of little men.

Is idleness indeed so black a crime?What are the Busy doing, half their time?

In youth audacity is wise

Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt.

Not like Homer would I write,Not like Dante if I might,Not like Shakespeare at his best,Not like Goethe or the rest,Like myself, however small,Like myself, or not at all.

Writing is learning to say nothing, more cleverly each day.

If any foes of mine are there, I pardon every one: I hope that man and womankind will do the same by me.

I have been an "Official" all my life, without the least turn for it. I never could attain a true official manner, which is highly artificial and handles trifles with ludicrously disproportionate gravity.