voice quotes

In Reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice, For ever singing, as they shine: 'The hand that made us is divine.'

-Addison,Joseph
  In The Spectator, no.465, 23  Aug.

   Nec audiendi qui solent dicere, vox populi, vox Dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniae proxima sit. We should not listen to those who like to affirm that the voice of the people is the voice of God, for the tumult of the masses is truly close to madness.

-Alcuin
  Letter to Charlemagne.

Poetry is music written for the human voice.

-Angelou, Maya originally MayaJohnson
  In'The Power of the Word', Public Broadcasting Service,15 Sep.

Well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over wires and that were it possible to do so, the thing would be of no practical value.

-Anonymous
  Editorial in the Boston Post.

Onlyöbut this is rareö When a beloved hand is laid in ours, When, jaded with the rush and glare Of the interminable hours, Our eyes can in another's eyes read clear, When our world-deafened ear Is by the tones of a loved voice caressedö A bolt is shot back somewhere in our breast, And a lost pulse of feeling stirs again. The eye sinks inward, and the heart lies plain, And what we mean, we say, and what we would, we know.

-Arnold, Matthew
  Empedocles on Etna and Other Poems,'The Buried Life', l.77^87.

The voice of the people hath some divineness in it, else how should so many men agree to be of one mind? Bacon

-Bacon, Francis,Viscount St Albans
  De Dignitiate et  Augmentis Scientiarum,  Antitheta no.9 (translated by Gilbert  Watts,1640).

In things that are tender and unpleasing, it isgood to break the ice by some whose words are of less weight, and to reserve the more weighty voice to come in as by chance.

-Bacon, Francis,Viscount St Albans
  Essays, no.22,'Of Cunning'.

Sometimes you move publicly, sometimes privately. Sometimes quietly, sometimes at the top of your voice. And sometimes an active policy is best advanced by doing nothing until the right timeöor never.

-Baker,James Addison, III
  Of statesmanship. In Time,19 Mar.

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said,Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat? 86

-Bible (Old Testament)
Genesis 3:10^11.

And, behold, the L passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the L; but the L was not in the wind: and after thewind anearthquake; butthe L wasnot inthe earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the L was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

-Bible (Old Testament)
ORDORDORDORDORD1 Kings19:11^12.

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee,O L. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of mysupplications.Ifthou,L, shouldest mark iniquities, O L, who shall stand? But, there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

-Bible (Old Testament)
ORDORDORDPsalms130:1^4.

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the L hand double for all her sins. The voice of himthat crieth in the wilderness,Prepare ye the way of the L, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valleyshall be exalted,and everymountainand hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the L shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the L hath spoken it. The voicesaid,Cry. And hesaid,What shall Icry? All flesh isgrass, and all thegoodlinessthereof isastheflowerof the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the L bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

-Bible (Old Testament)
ORD'SORDORDORDORDIsaiah 40:1^8.

And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell as his feet as dead.

-Bible (NewTestament)
Revelation1:13^17.

De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine; Domine exaudi vocem meam. Up from the depths I have cried to thee, Lord; Lord, hear my voice.

-Bible (Vulgate)
Psalm129:1 (Psalm130:1  Authorized Version).

Positive, adj. Mistaken at the top of one's voice.

-Bierce, Ambrose Gwinett
  The Cynic's Word Book. Retitled  The Devil's Dictionary (1911).

OAutumn, laden with fruit, and stained With the blood of grape, pass not, but sit Beneath my shady roof; there thou may'st rest, And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe, And all the daughters of the year shall dance! Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.

-Blake,William
  Poetical Sketches,'To  Autumn'.

Little lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life and bid thee feed By the stream and o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing, woolly, bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice? Little lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee?

-Blake,William
  Songs of Innocence,'The Lamb'.

Hear the voice of the Bard! Who present, past and future sees.

-Blake,William
  Songs of Experience,'Introduction'.

I care not whether a man isgood or evil; all that I care Is whether he is a wise man or a fool.Go! put off Holiness, And put on intellect, or my thunderous hammer shall drive thee, To wrath which thou condemnest, till thou obey my voice.

-Blake,William
c.1804^1807  Jerusalem, plate 91.

Theyare as venomous as the poison of a serpent: even like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ears; Which refuseth to hear the voice of the charmer: charm he never so wisely.

-Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 58:4^5.

78 Quotes found. Displaying quotes 1 through 20

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Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.