a man's reach should exceed his grasp
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An English literature major at Brown University in Rhode Island, Paterno was a voracious reader whose favorite sayings included Robert Browning's "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"
From Chicago Tribune • Jan. 23, 2012
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?
From Browning and the Dramatic Monologue by Curry, S. S. (Samuel Silas)
He says:— "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?"
From Halleck's New English Literature by Halleck, Reuben Post
The text of that whole poem is found in the line Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp.
From Robert Browning: How to Know Him by Phelps, William Lyon
"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?"
From To Love by Peterson, Margaret
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
