Quote#Nature
How doth the little busy bee
Quote byIsaac Watts · 1674–1748
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Divine Songs Attempted in the Easy Language of Children (1715), Song 20: "Against Idleness and Mischief". Parodied by Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland..
English (original)
How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour, And gather honey all the day From every opening flower!
— Isaac Watts
More from Isaac Watts
Whene'er I take my walks abroad, How many poor I see! What shall I render to my God For all his gifts to me?
Lord, I ascribe it to thy grace, And not to chance as others do, That I was born of Christian race, And not a Heathen, or a Jew.
There's not a place where we can flee, But God is present there.
Were I so tall to reach the pole, Or grasp the ocean with my span, I must be measured by my soul; The mind's the standard of the man.
I would not change my native land For rich Peru with all her gold. A nobler prize lies in my hand Than East or Western Indies hold.
Just as a tree cut down, that fell To north, or southward, there it lies: So man departs to heaven or hell, Fix'd in the state wherein he dies.