There rise authors now and then, who seem proof against the mutability of language, because they have rooted themselves in the unchanging principles of human nature.
Washington IrvingRead
Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Memories of friends who are far away bring both joy and a sense of longing.
This quote by Washington Irving expresses the bittersweet nature of remembering friends who are no longer nearby. The memories evoke warmth and comfort, much like the gentle light of a setting sun, but they also carry a sense of sadness due to the distance and loss of connection.
Themes
FriendshipMemoryDistanceLongingNostalgia
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about cherished relationships, one might say, 'As Washington Irving beautifully put it, 'Sweet is the memory of distant friends.'
More from Washington Irving
All quotes βThere is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.
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Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.
Washington IrvingRead
The easiest thing to do, whenever you fail, is to put yourself down by blaming your lack of ability for your misfortunes.
Washington IrvingRead
If I can, by a lucky chance, in these uneasy days, rub out one wrinkle from the brow of care, or beguile the heavy heart of one moment of sadness; if I can, how and then, prompt a happier view of human nature, and make my reader more in good humor with his fellow-beings and himself, surely, I shall not have written in vain.
Washington IrvingRead
The idol of today pushes the hero of yesterday out of our recollection; and will, in turn, be supplanted by his successor of tomorrow.
Washington IrvingRead
Similar quotes
Young friends, do not hesitate to follow the example of Pedro, who 'pleased God and was loved by him' and who, having come to perfection in so short a time, lived a full life.
Pope John Paul IiRead
I have lost my seven best friends, which is to say God has had mercy on me seven times without realizing it. He lent a friendship, took it from me, sent me another.
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...of two simple men I saw today on the pier in the midst of the crowd, parting the parting of dear friends, the one to remain hung on the other's neck and passionately kissed him. While the one to depart tightly pressed the one to remain in his arms.
Walt WhitmanRead
Everyone calls himself a friend, but only a fool relies on it; nothing is commoner than the name, nothing rarer than the thing.
Jean De La FontaineRead
Haec ego non multis (scribo), sed tibi: satis enim magnum alter alteri theatrum sumus. I am writing this not to many, but to you: certainly we are a great enough audience for each other.
EpicurusRead
Books are the quietest and most constant of friends.
Charles William EliotRead