quote · Legacy record
We seek but half the causes of our deeds, / Seeking them only in the outer life, / And heedless of the encircling spirit-world, / Which, though unseen, is felt, and sows in us / All germs of pure and world-wide purposes.
We seek but half the causes of our deeds, / Seeking them only in the outer life, / And heedless of the encircling spirit-world, / Which, though unseen, is felt, and sows in us / All germs of pure and world-wide purposes.
Approximate author period: c. 1855 AD · industrial
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- James Russell Lowell
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1855 AD · industrial
author lifetime midpoint (1819–1891)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Dictionary of Quotations (1893) (1893 AD)
Printed citation: Lowell. · page_528
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.