Carl Sandburg Quotes

Nothing happens unless first a dream.

Our lives are like a candle in the wind.

Let the gentle bush dig its root deep and spread upward to split the boulder.

There are dreams stronger than death. Men and women die holding these dreams.

I see America, not in the setting sun of a black night of despair ahead of us, I see America in the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God. I see great days ahead, great days possible to men and women of will and vision.

In reply to the question, What was it the last man on earth said Where is everybody

One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover creative solitude.

Valor is a gift. Those having it never know for sure whether they have it till the test comes. And those having it in one test never know for sure if they will have it when the next test comes.

History is a living horse laughing at a wooden horse. History is a wind blowing where it listeth. History is no sure thing to bet on. History is a box of tricks with a lost key. History is a labyrinth of doors with sliding panels, a book of ciphers with the code in a cave of the Saragossa sea. History says, if it pleases, Excuse me, I beg your pardon, it will never happen again if I can help it.

Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands and goes to work.

Money is power, freedom, a cushion, the root of al evil, the sum of all blessings.

Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head to your hand to your pencil to your paper until you get the right answer.

Arithmetic is where the answer is right and everything is nice and you can look out of the window and see the blue sky -- or the answer is wrong and you have to start over and try again and see how it comes out this time.

I tell you the past is a bucket of ashes.

Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.

When a nation goes down, or a society perishes, one condition may always be found; they forgot where they came from. They lost sight of what had brought them along.

The moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to.

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.

Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by.