I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.
Scrooge says it to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, after being shown his own neglected grave. A Christmas Carol was published in December 1843 and its first print run sold out within days.
It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.
I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players;
Because I could not stop for Death – / He kindly stopped for me –