Literary Birthday – 22 January – Lord Byron

Lord Byron was born 22 January 1788, and died 19 April 1824.

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes…

10 Quotes

There is something pagan in me that I cannot shake off. In short, I deny nothing, but doubt everything.
If I don’t write to empty my mind, I go mad.
If I could always read, I should never feel the want of company.
My great comfort is, that the temporary celebrity I have wrung from the world has been in the very teeth of all opinions and prejudices. I have flattered no ruling powers; I have never concealed a single thought that tempted me.
‘Tis strange — but true; for truth is always strange; stranger than fiction.
Though I love my country, I do not love my countrymen.
America is a model of force and freedom and moderation – with all the coarseness and rudeness of its people.
Words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.
The heart will break, but broken live on.
I doubt sometimes whether a quiet and unagitated life would have suited me – yet I sometimes long for it.

Lord Byron was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. Among Byron’s best-known works are the poems Don Juan, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, and She Walks in Beauty. He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and is still widely read and influential. He died at 36 from a fever in Greece.