2072. James Russell Lowell (1819-91). Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989

Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.


NUMBER:	2072
AUTHOR:	James Russell Lowell (1819–91)
QUOTATION:	Earth gets its price for what Earth gives us; The beggar is taxed for a corner to die in, The priest hath his fee who comes and shrives us, We bargain for the graves we lie in; At the Devil’s booth are all things sold, Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold; For a cap and bells our lives we pay, Bubbles we buy with a whole soul’s tasking: ’T is heaven alone that is given away, ’T is only God may be had for the asking; No price is set on the lavish summer; June may be had by the poorest comer. And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days; Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune, And over it softly her warm ear lays: Whether we look, or whether we listen, We hear life murmur, or see it glisten.
ATTRIBUTION:	JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL, “The Vision of Sir Launfal,” prelude to part 1, lines 21–38, The Vision of Sir Launfal and Other Poems, p. 4–5 (1887).
SUBJECTS:	Worth