Samuel Taylor Coleridge Quotes
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, literary critic, and philosopher and one of the central figures of English Romanticism. After early association with Wordsworth in the project of the Lyrical Ballads, he spent time in Germany absorbing the philosophy of Kant, Schelling, and the early Romantics, returning to introduce their ideas into English thought. The quotes below are attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, organized by topic.
Browse Samuel Taylor Coleridge by topic
Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Death
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“Ere sin could blight or sorrow fade, Death came with friendly care; The opening bud to heaven conveyed, And bade it blossom there .”
Epitaph on an Infant", l. 1 (1794)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge on God
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Attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge:
“He who begins by loving Christianity better than truth will end by loving himself better than all.”
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“O! the one Life, within us and abroad, Which meets all Motion, and becomes its soul, A Light in Sound, a sound-like power in Light, Rhythm in all Thought, and Joyance every where.”
The Eolian Harp ", st. 2 (wr. 1795; pub. 1796) -
“And what if all of animated nature Be but organic harps diversly fram'd, That tremble into thought, as o'er them sweeps Plastic and vast, one intellectual breeze, At once the Soul of each, and God of All?”
The Eolian Harp", st. 3 (wr. 1795; pub. 1796)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Knowledge
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“The dwarf sees farther than the giant when he has the giant's shoulder to mount on.”
No. 15 (November 30, 1809), p. 228 | Cf. Isaac Newton , letter to Robert Hooke (15 February 1676): "If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants". -
“Epitaph on an Infant", l. 1 (1794)”
Ere sin could blight or sorrow fade, Death came with friendly care; The opening bud to heaven conveyed, And bade it blossom there . -
“To a Young Ass", l. 1 (1794)”
Poor little foal of an oppressèd race! I love the languid patience of thy face. -
“Blest hour! it was a luxury — to be!”
Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement", l. 43 (1795) -
“Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement", l. 43 (1795)”
Blest hour! it was a luxury — to be! -
“The Eolian Harp ", st. 2 (wr. 1795; pub. 1796)”
O! the one Life, within us and abroad, Which meets all Motion, and becomes its soul, A Light in Sound, a sound-like power in Light, Rhythm in all Thought, and Joyance every where. -
“The Eolian Harp", st. 3 (wr. 1795; pub. 1796)”
And what if all of animated nature Be but organic harps diversly fram'd, That tremble into thought, as o'er them sweeps Plastic and vast, one intellectual breeze, At once the Soul of each, and God of All?
Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Love
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Attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge:
“What I most love in another is what I do not understand.”
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“Poor little foal of an oppressèd race! I love the languid patience of thy face.”
To a Young Ass", l. 1 (1794)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Mind
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Attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge:
“Imagination is the living power and prime agent of all human perception.”
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Attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge:
“Reason is the power of universal and necessary convictions.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Truth
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Attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge:
“No man was ever yet a great poet, without being at the same time a profound philosopher.”