“Inscribe all human effort with one word, / Artistry's haunting curse, the Incomplete!”

— Robert Browning, The Ring and the Book, Book XI, line 1560, 1868-69

About Robert Browning

1812 – 1889

English poet and playwright, known for his dramatic monologues.

“Earth changes, but thy soul and God stand sure.”

“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made.”

“Good, to forgive; best to forget.”

“What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty!”

“We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds.”

“Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.”

“Hard work is simply the refuge of people who have nothing whatever to do.”

“Why does this magnificent applied science which saves work and makes life easier bring us so little happiness?”

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”