25+ Emma Lazarus Quotes (Immigration, Justice And Hope)

Emma Lazarus was an American poet, playwright, and activist. She is best known for her poem "The New Colossus," which is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. She was a passionate advocate for the rights of Jewish refugees and immigrants and her work is considered a cornerstone of American Jewish literature.

Top 10 Emma Lazarus Quotes

1. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
2. Kindle the taper like the steadfast star Ablaze on evening's forehead o'er the earth, And add each night a lustre till afar An eightfold splendor shine above thy hearth.
3. My own curiosity and interest are insatiable.
4. I am never going to write for the sake of writing.
5. No man had ever heard a nightingale, When once a keen-eyed naturalist was stirred To study and define -- what is a bird.
6. When angels visit earth, the messengers Of God's decree, they come as lightning, wind: Before the throne, they all are living fire.
7. Jews are the intensive form of any nationality whose language and customs they adopt.
8. Until we are all free, we are none of us free.
9. Life's sharpest rapture is surcease of pain.
10. The particular article ought in my opinion to be treated with absolute contempt. It is too vile to touch.

Emma Lazarus Short Quotes

• There is no comfort looking forth nor back, The present gives the lie to all her past.
• Poetry must be simple, sensuous, or impassioned.
• Naught is too small and soft to turn and sting.
• I seem to have always one little window looking but into life.
• Still ours the dance, the feast, the glorious Psalm, The mystic lights of emblem, and the Word.
• Thou two-faced year, Mother of Change and Fate...

Emma Lazarus Famous Quotes And Sayings

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of exiles. — Emma Lazarus

Let our first care today be the re-establishment of our physical strength, the reconstruction of our national organism, so that in future, where the respect due to us cannot be won by entreaty, it may be commanded, and where it cannot be commanded, it may be enforced. — Emma Lazarus

The Jewish problem is as old as history, and assumes in each age a new form. The life or death of millions of human beings hangs upon its solution; its agitation revives the fiercest passions for good and for evil that inflame the human breast. — Emma Lazarus

The little and the great are joined in one By God's great force. The wondrous golden sun Is linked unto the glow-worm's tiny spark; The eagle soars to heaven in his flight; And in those realms of space, all bathed in light, Soar none except the eagle and the lark. — Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" — Emma Lazarus

I am perfectly conscious that this contempt and hatred underlies the general tone of the community towards us, and yet when I even remotely hint at the fact that we are not a favorite people I am accused of stirring up strife and setting barriers between the two sects. — Emma Lazarus

Thick February mists cling heavily To the dead earth and to each leafless tree, And closer down upon the hilltops draw, Dull forecasts there of bright, sure-coming spring; Yet the heart gathers hope and strange delight From this dear, unlovely, wished-for sight Of leaden-misted twilights lengthening. — Emma Lazarus

The soul, at peace, reflects the peace without, Forgetting grief as sunset skies forget The morning's transient shower. — Emma Lazarus

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to be free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! — Emma Lazarus

Life Lessons by Emma Lazarus

1. Emma Lazarus's work emphasizes the importance of compassion and empathy for those who are less fortunate. She encourages us to embrace diversity and to be mindful of the struggles of those who are different from us. Through her writing, she reminds us to be kind and generous to those in need and to strive for social justice.
2. Emma Lazarus's work is a reminder that we are all connected and that our actions have an impact on others. She encourages us to be conscious of our privilege and to use it to help those who are less fortunate.
3. Emma Lazarus's work is a reminder to be mindful of our words and actions and to strive for justice and equality for all. She encourages us to be open-minded and to strive for a more equitable and just society