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Spartan Surfers

1807–1892

John Greenleaf Whittier

Quaker poet from Massachusetts and a leading voice against slavery. He wrote "Maud Muller" and the winter memory poem "Snow-Bound".

4 sourced lines

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

  1. The saddest words of tongue or pen: it might have been.

    A judge and a farm girl each spend their lives wondering about the other. Whittier names the ache of the chance not taken. The cure is cheap: say the thing, make the call, take the chance while you can.

    "Maud Muller" (1854), Original English (The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Gutenberg complete edition)

  2. The steps of faith fall on the seeming void and find the rock beneath.

    Faith, for Whittier, means stepping forward before you can see the floor. Often the ground is there once you commit. Take the step; the rock shows up under the foot that moves.

    "My Soul and I", Original English (The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Gutenberg complete edition)

  3. When faith is lost, when honor dies, the man is dead.

    Whittier wrote this in disappointment at a public man he had admired. A body can go on long after its honor is gone. Guard your word and your faith as if your life depended on them.

    "Ichabod" (1850), Original English (The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Gutenberg complete edition)

  4. Life is ever lord of Death, and Love can never lose its own.

    Remembering family members long gone, Whittier refuses to let death have the last word. What we loved stays ours. Grief is real, and so is the love that outlasts it.

    "Snow-Bound" (1866), Original English (The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Gutenberg complete edition)