Quotes from Flora Thompson

Nature knows no calendar, the seasons move in a circle.

We cannot bring the good old days back but, if we must eat mass-made foods, get laws passed to insist upon its goodness and purity.

Some great poet or philosopher once said that " he who goes to nature for comfort must go to her empty handed " , and I think he was right.

happiness depends more upon the state of mind - and body, perhaps - than upon circumstances and events.

Strict honesty was the policy of most of them; although there were a few who were said to 'find anything before 'tis lost' and to whom findings were keepings.

Special qualities are required of the essayist. A poem or a novel may spring from the inner consciousness of an author. Reasoning poers must be brought to reinforce imagination.

Words as to the inner emotions do not come readily to me, for I have led an isolated life mentally and spiritually.

It was ordained that our earthly pilgrammage should be a struggle, and life would be a tame affair if everything went smoothly.

Any artwork needs time and patience and needs above a quiet mind.

Afterwards, they always had tea in the kitchen, much the nicest room in the house.

There Laura spent many happy hours, supposed to be picking fruit for jam, but for the better part of the time reading or dreaming. One corner, overhung by a Samson tree and walled in with bushes and flowers, she called her 'green study'.

Twas a still, calm night and the moon's pale light Shone over hill and dale When friends mute with grief stood around the deathbed Of their loved, lost Lily Lyle. Heart as pure as forest lily Never knowing guile, Had its home within the bosom Of sweet Lily Lyle.

One boy's a boy; two boys be half a boy, and three boys be no boy at all', ran the old country saying.

For myself I would desire a combination of old romance and modern machinery.

When I am dead and in my head And all my bones are are rotten, Take this book and think of me And mind I'm not forgotten.

No, I be-ant expectin' nothin', but I be so yarnin

Traditions and customs which had lasted for centuries did not die out in a moment.

People were poorer and had not the comforts, amusements, or knowledge we have today; but they were happier.

Brains were no good to a working man; they only made him discontented and saucy and lose his jobs. She'd seen it happen again and again.

There is something exhilarating about pay-day, even when the pay is poor and already mortgaged for necessities. With

The human eye loves to rest upon wide expanses of pure colour: the moors in the purple heyday of the heather, miles of green downland, and the sea when it lies calm and blue and boundless, all delight it; but to some none of these, lovely though they all are, can give the same satisfaction of spirit as acres upon acres of golden corn. There is both beauty and bread and the seeds of bread for future generations.

No book's too old for anybody who is able to enjoy it, and none too young, either, for that matter. Let her read what she likes.

to make up in an hour for all their wasted yesterdays.

Many of the great eaters grew very stout in later life; but this caused them no uneasiness; they regarded their [Pg 390] expanding girth as proper to middle age. Thin people were not admired. However cheerful and energetic they might appear, they were suspected of 'fretting away their fat' and warned that they were fast becoming 'walking miseries'.