Henry van Dyke
Overview
Henry Jackson van Dyke was an American author, educator, and clergyman.
Henry van Dyke was born on November 11
, 1852 in Germantown, Pennsylvania in the United States.
He graduated from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 in 1873 and from Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...

, 1877 and served as a professor of English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....

 at Princeton between 1899 and 1923. In 1908-09 Dr. van Dyke was an American lecturer at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

. By appointment of President Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

 he became Minister to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

 in 1913.
Quotations

So in the heart,When, fading slowly down the past,Fond memories depart,And each that leaves it seems the last;Long after all the rest are flown,Returns a solitary tone,—The after-echo of departed years,—And touches all the soul to tears.

The After-Echo, st. 2 (1871)

A tear that trembles for a little whileUpon the trembling eyelid, till the worldWavers within its circle like a dream,Holds more of meaning in its narrow orbThan all the distant landscape that it blurs.

Dulciora, st. 1 (1872)

And so, by night, while we were all at rest,I think the coming sped the parting guest.

The Parting and the Coming Guest (1873)

What we do belongs to what we are; and what we are is what becomes of us.

Ships and Havens, ch. 2 (1898)

The legend of Felix is ended, the toiling of Felix is done;The Master has paid him his wages, the goal of his journey is won;He rests, but he never is idle; a thousand years pass like a day,In the glad surprise of Paradise where work is sweeter than play.

The Toiling of Felix, Pt. III, st. 1 (1898)

This is the gospel of labour, ring it, ye bells of the kirk!The Lord of Love came down from above, to live with the men who work.This is the rose that He planted, here in the thorn-curst soil:Heaven is blest with perfect rest, but the blessing of Earth is toil.

The Toiling of Felix, Pt. III, st. 5

For men have dulled their eyes with sin,And dimmed the light of heaven with doubt,And built their temple-walls to shut thee in,And framed their iron creeds to shut thee out.

God of the Open Air, st. III (1904)

This is the soldier brave enough to tellThe glory-dazzled world that "war is hell":Lover of peace, he looks beyond the strife,And rides through hell to save his country's life.

The Statue of Sherman by St. Gaudens (1904)

Count not the cost of honour to the dead!The tribute that a mighty nation paysTo those who loved her well in former daysMeans more than gratitude for glories fled;For every noble man that she hath bred,Lives in the bronze and marble that we raise,Immortalised by art's immortal praise,To lead our sons as he our fathers led.

National Monuments, st. 1 (February 1905)

O brave flag, O bright flag, O flag to lead the free!The glory of thy silver stars,Engrailed in blue above the barsOf red for courage, white for truth,Has brought the world a second youthAnd drawn a hundred million hearts to follow after thee.

Who Follow the Flag, Phi Kappa Beta Ode, Harvard University (June 30, 1910)

 
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