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John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.

2069 John Webster 1580?-1634 John Bartlett

 
NUMBER:2069
AUTHOR:John Webster (1580?–1634)
QUOTATION:Glories, like glow-worms, afar off shine bright,
But look’d too near have neither heat nor light. 1
ATTRIBUTION:The White Devil. Act iv. Sc. 4.
 
Note 1.
The mountains, too, at a distance appear airy masses and smooth, but when beheld close they are rough.—Diogenes Laertius: Pyrrho.

Love is like a landscape which doth stand
Smooth at a distance, rough at hand.
Robert Hegge: On Love.

We ’re charm’d with distant views of happiness,
But near approaches make the prospect less.
Yalden: Against Enjoyment.

As distant prospects please us, but when near
We find but desert rocks and fleeting air.
Samuel Garth: The Dispensatory, canto iii. line 27.

’T is distance lends enchantment to the view,
And robes the mountain in its azure hue.
Thomas Campbell: Pleasures of Hope, part i. line 7. [back]