It is the lark that sings so out of tune,
Straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps.
Lo! here the gentle lark, weary of rest.
From his moist cabinet mounts up on high,
And wakes the morning, from whose silver breast
The sun ariseth in his majesty.
Hail to thee blithe Spirit!
Bird thou never wert,
That from Heaven, or near it,
Pourest thy full heart
In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.
Shelley—To a Skylark. St. 1.
| seealso = (See also Wordsworth under Cuckoo)
| topic = Laughter
| page = 428
}}
{{Hoyt quote
| num =
| text = <poem>Better than all measures
Of delightful sound,
Better than all treasures
That in books are found,
Thy skill to poet were, thou scorner of the ground!
Shelley—To a Skylark. St. 20.
Up springs the lark,
Shrill-voiced, and loud, the messenger of morn;
Ere yet the shadows fly, he mounted sings
Amid the dawning clouds, and from their haunts
Calls up the tuneful nations.
Thomson—The Seasons. Spring. L. 587.
The lark that shuns on lofty boughs to build
Her humble nest, lies silent in the field.
Edmund Waller—Of the Queen.
Ethereal minstrel! pilgrim of the sky!
Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound?
Or, while the wings aspire, are heart and eye
Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground?
Thy nest which thou canst drop into at will,
Those quivering wings composed, that music still!
Leave to the nightingale her shady wood;
A privacy of glorious light is thine:
Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood
Of harmony, with instinct more divine:
Type of the wise who soar, but never roam:
True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home!
LAUGHTER
He laughs best who laughs last.
Old English Proverb.
Better the last smile than the first laughter.
Ray—Collection of Old English Proverbs.
II rit bien qui rit le dernier. (French)
Rira bien que rira le dernier. (French)
Ride bene chi ride Pultimo. (Italian)
Wer zuletsst lacht, lacht am besten. (German)
Den leer bcdst som leer sidst. (Danish)
| seealso = (See also Othello)
| topic = Laughter
| page = 428
}}
{{Hoyt quote
| num =
| text = <poem>Je me hate de me moquer de tous, de peur
d'etre oblige 1 d'en pleurer.
I hasten to laugh at everything, for fear of
being obliged to weep.
Beaumarchais—Barbier de Seville. Act I. Sc. 2.
| seealso = (See also {{sc|Byron)
When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy,
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by;
When the air does laugh with our merry wit,
And the green hill laughs with the noise of it.
Truth's sacred fort th' exploded laugh shall win,
And coxcombs vanquish Berkeley with a grin.
—.
The landlord's laugh was ready chorus.
And if I laugh at any mortal thing,
'Tis that I may not weep.
| author = Byron
| work = Don Juan. Canto IV. St. 4.
| seealso = (See also Beaumarchais)
| topic = Laughter
| page = 428
}}
{{Hoyt quote
| num =
| text = <poem>How much lies in Laughter: the cipher-key,
wherewith we decipher the whole man.
Carlyle—Sartor Resartus. Bk. I. Ch. IV.
Nam risu inepto res ineptior nulla est.
Nothing is more silly than silly laughter.
Catullus—Carmina. XXXIX. 16.
La plus perdue de toutes les journées est celle où l'on n'a pas rit.
The most completely lost of all days is that on which one has not laughed.
The vulgar only laugh, but never smile; whereas well-bred people often smile, but seldom laugh.
Chesterfield—Letter to his Son. Feb. 17, 1754.
Loud laughter is the mirth of the mob, who
are only pleased with silly things; for true wit or
good sense never excited a laugh since the creation of the world.
Chesterfield—Letters. Vol. I. P. 211. Ed. by Mahon.
A gentleman is often seen, but very seldom
heard to laugh.
Chesterfield—Letters. Vol. II. P. 164; also 404. Ed. by Mahon.
Cio ch'io vedeva mi sembrava un riso
Dell' universo.
What I saw was equal ecstasy:
One universal smile it seemed of all things.
Dante—Paradiso. XXVII. 5.
As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is
the laughter of a fool.
Ecclesiastes. VII. 6.
