Henry Jackson van Dyke Jr. (November 10, 1852 – April 10, 1933) was an American author, educator, diplomat, and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

clergyman.

Early life

Van Dyke was born on November 10, 1852, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Henry Jackson van Dyke Sr. (1822–1891), a prominent Brooklyn

clergyman known in the antebellum years for his anti-

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

views."Henry Jackson Van Dyke," ''National Cyclopedia of American Biography: Volume 7,'' New York: James T. White and Co., 1897; p. 291. The family traced its roots to Jan Thomasse van Dijk, who emigrated from

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

to North America in 1652. The younger Henry van Dyke graduated from

Poly Prep Country Day School Poly Prep Country Day School (commonly known as Poly Prep) is an independent, co-educational day school with two campuses in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The Middle School (5th to 8th grades) and Upper School (9th to 12th grades) are loc ...

in 1869,

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, in 1873 and from

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...

, 1877.

Career

He served as a professor of

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

at Princeton between 1899 and 1923. Among the many students whom he influenced was, notably, future celebrity travel writer

Richard Halliburton Richard Halliburton (January 9, 1900 – presumed dead after March 24, 1939) was an American travel writer and adventurer who swam the length of the Panama Canal and paid the lowest toll in its history—36 cents in 1928. He disappeared at ...

(1900–1939), Editor-in-Chief, at the time, of the Princeton ''Pictorial.'' Van Dyke chaired the committee that wrote the first Presbyterian printed liturgy,

The Book of Common Worship of 1906 There have been several liturgical books used in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Presently, the primary liturgical book of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is ''The Book of Common Worship'' of 1993, published in cooperation with the Cumberland Presbyt ...

. In 1908–09 Dr. van Dyke was a lecturer at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

. By appointment of President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, a friend and former classmate of van Dyke, he became Minister to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

in 1913. Shortly after his appointment,

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

threw Europe into dismay. Americans all around Europe rushed to Holland as a place of refuge. Although inexperienced as an ambassador, van Dyke conducted himself with the skill of a trained diplomat, maintaining the rights of Americans in Europe and organizing work for their relief. He later related his experiences and perceptions in the book ''Pro Patria'' (1921). Van Dyke resigned as ambassador at the beginning of December 1916 and returned to the United States. He was subsequently elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

and received many other honors. Van Dyke was a friend of Helen Keller. Keller wrote: "Dr. van Dyke is the kind of a friend to have when one is up against a difficult problem. He will take trouble, days and nights of trouble, if it is for somebody else or for some cause he is interested in. 'I'm not an optimist,' says Dr. van Dyke, 'there's too much evil in the world and in me. Nor am I a pessimist; there is too much good in the world and in God. So I am just a meliorist, believing that He wills to make the world better, and trying to do my bit to help and wishing that it were more.'" He officiated at the funeral of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

at the Brick Presbyterian Church on April 23, 1910. Van Dyke died on April 10, 1933. He is buried in

Princeton Cemetery Princeton Cemetery is located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the Nassau Presbyterian Church. John F. Hageman in his 1878 history of Princeton, New Jersey refers to the cemetery as "The Westminster Abbey of the United Stat ...

. A biography of Van Dyke, titled ''Henry Van Dyke: A Biography'', was written by his son Tertius van Dyke and published in 1935.

Literary legacy

Among his popular writings are the two Christmas stories, "

The Other Wise Man ''The Other Wise Man'' is a short novel or long short story by Henry van Dyke. It was initially published in 1895 and has been reprinted many times since then. Story The story is an addition and expansion of the account of the Biblical Magi, re ...

" (1896) and "The First Christmas Tree" (1897). Various religious themes of his work are also expressed in his poetry,

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s and the essays collected in ''Little Rivers'' (1895) and ''Fisherman's Luck'' (1899). He wrote the lyrics to the popular hymn "

Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee "The Hymn of Joy" (often called "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" after the first line) is a poem written by Henry van Dyke in 1907 with the intention of musically setting it to the famous "Ode to Joy" melody of the final movement of Ludwig van Beeth ...

" (1907), sung to the tune of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

's "

Ode to Joy "Ode to Joy" (German language, German: , literally "To heJoy") is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller and published the following year in ''Thalia (magazine), Thalia''. A slightl ...

". He compiled several short stories in ''The Blue Flower'' (1902), named after the key symbol of

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

introduced first by

Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure of ...

. He also contributed a chapter to the collaborative novel, ''

The Whole Family ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1908). One of van Dyke's best-known poems is titled "Time Is" (''Music and Other Poems, 1904''), also known as "For Katrina's Sundial" because it was composed to be an inscription on a sundial in the garden of an estate owned by his friends Spencer and Katrina Trask. The second section of the poem, which was read at the

funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, started on Saturday 6 September 1997 at 9:08am in London, when the tenor bell of Westminster Abbey started tolling to signal the departure of the cortège from Kensington Palace. The coffin was carried ...

, reads as follows:

Time is Too slow for those who Wait, Too swift for those who Fear, Too long for those who Grieve, Too short for those who Rejoice, But for those who Love, Time is not.

(This is the original poem; some versions have "Eternity" in place of "not.") The poem inspired the song "Time Is" by the group

It's a Beautiful Day It's a Beautiful Day is an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1967, featuring vocalist Pattie Santos along with violinist David LaFlamme and his wife, Linda LaFlamme, on keyboards. David LaFlamme, who as a youth had once p ...

on their eponymous 1969 debut album. Another interpretation of the poem is a song entitled "Time" by

Mark Masri Mark Masri (born 23 August 1973) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and producer. He is signed to EMI record label and has released five albums: ''Mark Masri'', ''La Voce'', ''Christmas Is...'', ''A Christmas Time with You'', and ''Intimo'', as we ...

(2009). In 2003, the same section of the poem was chosen for a memorial in Grosvenor Square, London, dedicated to British victims of the

September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. The poem is also used as the closing of the 2013 novel ''Child of Time,'' by Bob Johnson.

List of works

Short stories

* Among The Quantock Hills, from ''Days Off and Other Digressions'' * Antwerp Road * The Art of Leaving Off, from ''Days Off and Other Digressions'' * Ashes of Vengeance (a half-told tale) * Beggars Under the Bush * Between The Lupin and The Laurel, from ''Days Off and Other Digressions'' * The Blue Flower * Books That I Loved as a Boy, from ''Days Off and Other Digressions'' * The Boy of Nazareth Dreams * A Brave Heart, from ''The Ruling Passion'' collection * The Broken Soldier and the Maid of France * A Change of Air * A City of Refuge * A Classic Instance * The Countersign of The Cradle * Days Off, from ''Days Off and Other Digressions'' * Diana and the Lions (a half-told tale) * A Dream-story: The Christmas Angel * The Effectual Fervent Prayer * The First Black Christmas * The First Christmas-Tree * A Friend of Justice, from ''The Ruling Passion'' collection * The Gentle Life, from ''The Ruling Passion'' collection * A Handful Of Clay * The Hearing Ear * The Hero and Tin Soldiers * His Other Engagement, from ''Days Off and Other Digressions'' * A Holiday in a Vacation, from ''Days Off and Other Digressions'' * Humoreske * In the Odour of Sanctity * Justice of the Elements (a half-told tale) * The Keeper of the Light, from ''The Ruling Passion'' collection * The Key of the Tower * The King's High Way * The King's Jewel * Leviathan, from ''Days Off and Other Digressions'' * Little Red Tom, from ''Days Off and Other Digressions'' * The Lost Boy * The Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago * A Lover of Music, from ''The Ruling Passion'' collection * Lucifer's Virgin Body * The Mansion, Christmas story * Messengers at the Window * The Mill * The Music-Lover * The New Era and Carry On (a half-told tale) * The Night Call * Notions About Novels, from ''Days Off and Other Digressions'' * An Old Game *

* Out-Of-Doors in the Holy Land * The Primitive and His Sandals (a half-told tale) * Ships and Havens * A Remembered Dream * The Return of the Charm * The Reward of Virtue, from ''The Ruling Passion'' collection * The Ripening of the Fruit * The Sad Shepherd, Christmas story * Salvage Point * A Sanctuary of Trees * Silverhorns, from ''Boy Scouts' Book of Campfire Stories'' * Sketches of Quebec * Some Remarks On Gulls, from ''Days Off and Other Digressions'' * Songs Out of Doors (Poems) small (duodecimo?) volume published by Scribner's, 1922 * The Source * Spy Rock * Fighting For Peace * Stronghold * The Traitor in the House (a half-told tale) * The Unruly Sprite, a Partial Fairy Tale * The Wedding-Ring * What Peace Means * The White Blot, from ''The Ruling Passion'' collection * Wood-Magic * A Year of Nobility, from ''The Ruling Passion'' collection * The Red Flower * Doors of Daring Scribner's Sons published ''The Works of Henry Van Dyke,'' 16 volumes, in 1920; it is known as the Avalon Edition.

Essays

* The Americanism of George Washington (1906)

Archival collections

The

Presbyterian Historical Society The Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) is the oldest continuous denominational historical society in the United States.Smylie, James H. 1996. ''A Brief History of the Presbyterians.'' Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva Press. Its mission is to col ...

has a collection of Van Dyke'
sermons, notes and addresses from 1875 to 1931.
The collection also includes two biographical essays and a poem from 1912.