John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
2069 John Webster 1580?-1634 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 2069 |
| AUTHOR: | John Webster (1580?–1634) |
| QUOTATION: | Glories, like glow-worms, afar off shine bright, But look’d too near have neither heat nor light. 1 |
| ATTRIBUTION: | The White Devil. Act iv. Sc. 4. |
| Note 1. The mountains, too, at a distance appear airy masses and smooth, but when beheld close they are rough.—Diogenes Laertius: Pyrrho. Love is like a landscape which doth stand Smooth at a distance, rough at hand. Robert Hegge: On Love. We ’re charm’d with distant views of happiness, But near approaches make the prospect less. Yalden: Against Enjoyment. As distant prospects please us, but when near We find but desert rocks and fleeting air. Samuel Garth: The Dispensatory, canto iii. line 27. ’T is distance lends enchantment to the view, And robes the mountain in its azure hue. Thomas Campbell: Pleasures of Hope, part i. line 7. [back] |