Swiftness Quotes

• War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.

  J. R. R. Tolkien

  War, Arrows, Towers

  J.R.R. Tolkien (2012). “The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings”, p.656, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• Character builds slowly, but it can be torn down with incredible swiftness.

  Faith Baldwin

  Character, Reputation, Incredibles

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• Swift justice demands more than just swiftness.

  Potter Stewart

  Justice, Demand

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• I arise today
  Through the strength of heaven:
  Light of sun
  Brilliance of moon
  Splendor of fire
  Speed of lightning
  Swiftness of wind
  Depth of sea
  Stability of earth
  Firmness of rock.

  Saint Patrick

  Nature, Moon, Fire

  "Christian Spirituality: Origins to the Twelfth Century". Book by Bernard McGinn, Jean Leclercq, John Meyendorff, 1986.

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• Swift as the wind. Quiet as the forest. Conquer like the fire. Steady as the mountain

  Sun Tzu

  Art, War, Fire

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• Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.

  Henry Van Dyke

  Love, Life, Romantic

  Henry Van Dyke, “Time Is”

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• Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself.

  William Shakespeare

  Revenge, Anger, Enemy

  'Henry VIII' (1613) act 1, sc. 1, l. 140

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• Sleep and death, two twins of winged race,
  Of matchless swiftness, but of silent pace.

  Alexander Pope

  Sleep, Race, Two

  Alexander Pope (1967). “The Iliad of Homer”, p.346, Lulu.com

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• To win a race, the swiftness of a dart Availeth not without a timely start

  Jean de La Fontaine

  Winning, Race, Timely

  Jean de la Fontaine (2014). “Illustrated Tales”, p.5, FV Éditions

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• We may outrun By violent swiftness And lose by over-running.

  William Shakespeare

  Running, Balance, May

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• Jews are known for many things, but strength, swiftness, and agility are not among them. There is one trait, as controversial as it is familiar, for which Jews are above all known, and that is shrewdness in business.

  Steven Pinker

  Agility, Shrewdness, Controversial

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• The charms of the passing woman are generally in direct ratio to the swiftness of our passage.

  Marcel Proust

  Literature, Charm, Passing

  "In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower: In Search of Lost Time".

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• War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all.

  Faramir

  War, Towers, Lord Of The Ring

  "Fictional character: Faramir". 'The Two Towers' ('The Lord of the Rings'), Book by J. R. R. Tolkien, 1954.

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• Here the free spirit of mankind, at length,
  Throws its last fetters off; and who shall place
  A limit to the giant's unchained strength,
  Or curb his swiftness in the forward race?

  William C. Bryant

  Strength, Freedom, Race

  William Cullen Bryant, “The Ages”

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• His golden locks Time hath to silver turned,
  O time too swift! O swiftness never ceasing!
  His youth 'gainst Time and Age hath ever spurned,
  But spurned in vain! Youth waneth by increasing.

  George Peele

  Time, Age, Locks

  'Polyhymnia' (1590) ad fin. 'Sonnet'

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• There are a lot of messages that need to be sent to the criminal who is out there dealing in this on the streets of the United States. We need to send the message of swiftness and certain punishment.

  Bill McCollum

  Punishment, Criminals, United States

  6 Copy quote

• Sin does not leap upon us fully armed. It steals in through a look, a swift, silent suggestion or imagination, but love and loyalty to Jesus will make you watchful and swift to rise up and cast out the subtle enemy. Do this and you shall live, and live victoriously.

  Samuel Logan Brengle

  Love, Christian, Loyalty

  Samuel Logan Brengle (1929). “Ancient Prophets: With a Series of Occasional Papers on Modern Problems”

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• She was so quiet. So reflective. And she could erase herself, her spirit, with a swiftness that truly startled, when she knew the people around her could not respect it.

  Alice Walker

  People, Spirit, Quiet

  Alice Walker (2013). “The Alice Walker Collection: Fiction”, p.397, Hachette UK

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• The poet should try to give his poem the quiet swiftness of flame, so that the reader will feel and not think while he is reading. But the thinking will come afterwards.

  Sara Teasdale

  Reading, Thinking, Flames

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• New sentient creatures filled the unseen depths, Life's glory and swiftness ran in the beauty of beasts.

  Sri Aurobindo

  Unseen, Depth, Beast

  Sri Aurobindo (1995). “Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol”, p.111, Lotus Press

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• The swiftness of time is infinite, as is still more evident when we look back on the past.

  Seneca the Younger

  Inspirational, Time, Past

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• FALLING STARS: Do you remember still the falling stars that like swift horses through the heavens raced and suddenly leaped across the hurdles of our wishes -- do you recall? And we did make so many! For there were countless numbers of stars: each time we looked above we were astounded by the swiftness of their daring play, while in our hearts we felt safe and secure watching these brilliant bodies disintegrate, knowing somehow we had survived their fall.

  Rainer Maria Rilke

  Horse, Stars, Fall

  Rainer Maria Rilke, Albert Ernest Flemming (1986). “Rainer Maria Rilke: Selected Poems”, p.210, Psychology Press

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• The Master Speed No speed of wind or water rushing by but you have speed far greater. You can climb back up a stream of radiance to the sky, and back through history up the stream of time. And you were given this swiftness, not for haste nor chiefly that you may go where you will, but in the rush of everything to waste, that you may have the power of standing still-- off any still or moving thing you say. Two such as you with such a master speed From one another once you are agreed that life is only life forevermore together wing to wing and oar to oar.

  Robert Frost

  Moving, Wind, Sky

  Robert Frost (1936). “A Further Range”

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• Nothing gives a sadder sense of decay than this loss or suspension of the power to deal with unaccustomed things, and to keep up with the swiftness of the passing moment. [Speaking of self-posed isolation in old age.]

  Nathaniel Hawthorne

  Loss, Self, Passing Moments

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• There is psychological pleasure in this takeoff, too, for the swiftness of the plane’s ascent is an exemplary symbol of transformation. The display of power can inspire us to imagine analogous, decisive shifts in our own lives, to imagine that we, too, might one day surge above much that now looms over us.” P. 38-39

  Alain de Botton

  Inspire, One Day, Ascent

  8 Copy quote