- On wealth: “Wealth may be an excellent thing, for it means power, leisure, and liberty.”
- On Duty & Courage: “They are slaves who dare not be / In the right with two or three.” (From his famous anti-slavery poem, Stanzas on Freedom)
- On Charity: “Who gives himself with his alms feeds three, — / Himself, his hungering neighbor, and Me.” (From his Arthurian poem, The Vision of Sir Launfal)
James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) was a highly influential American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. As a prominent member of the New England Fireside Poets—a group that also included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Greenleaf Whittier—he wrote traditional, metered verse intended for family recitation and public education. Beyond his poetry, Lowell was a towering figure in 19th-century letters, known for his sharp wit, dedicated abolitionist activism, and foundational editorial work.
