Famous Quotes | But seldom the laurel wreath is...

But seldom the laurel wreath is seen
Unmixed with pensive pansies dark;
There’s a light and a shadow on every man
Who at last attains his lifted mark—
Nursing through night the ethereal spark.
Elate he never can be;
He feels that spirits which glad had hailed his worth,
Sleep in oblivion.—The shark
Glides white through the phosphorus sea. - Herman Melville
Attribution: Herman Melville (1819–1891), U.S. poet, novelist. Commemorative of a Naval Victory (l. 19–27). . . Selected Poems of Herman Melville. Hennig Cohen, ed. (1991) Fordham University Press.

Categories: Insight, Self-knowledge

Dictionary Tip:

Lookup any word on eNotes with our dictionary. Highlight the word and press SHIFT + D for a definition, or SHIFT + T for a synonym.