LAW OF LIFE
Live I, so live I,
To my Lord heartily,
To my Prince faithfully,
To my Neighbor honestly.
Die I, so die I.
The Annotated Edition
LAW OF LIFE by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Read aloud in ~1 minOpen reading mode →
This brief five-line poem presents a straightforward personal philosophy: live devoted to God, be loyal to your ruler, and remain honest with those around you, then pass on without regrets.
- Themes
- faith, hope, identity
§01Quick summary
What this poem is about
This brief five-line poem presents a straightforward personal philosophy: live devoted to God, be loyal to your ruler, and remain honest with those around you, then pass on without regrets. Longfellow suggests that a fulfilling life doesn’t have to be complex — just uphold these three principles, and everything else will fall into place. It feels like a personal motto etched into a ring.
§02Themes
Recurring themes
§03Line by line
Stanza by stanza, with notes
Live I, so live I, / To my Lord heartily,
Editor's note
The poem begins with a chant-like phrase: "Live I, so live I," which can be interpreted as "no matter how I live, this is how I choose to live." The initial pledge is directed to God ("my Lord"), and the term "heartily" is significant—it conveys not just a sense of obligation, but a genuine, enthusiastic devotion. The repeated phrase "Live I" at the beginning creates a rhythmic structure that resonates with the poem's concluding lines, forming a mirror image.
To my Prince faithfully, / To my Neighbor honestly.
Editor's note
The second and third commitments expand from the divine to the civic and then to the personal. "My Prince" stands for earthly authority — the state or sovereign — and the duty here is *faithfulness*, which entails reliability and obedience. "My Neighbor" includes everyone else we encounter daily, where the duty is *honesty*. Longfellow organizes these three relationships in a straightforward hierarchy: God, ruler, community.
Die I, so die I.
Editor's note
The final line reflects the opening perfectly, changing "Live" to "Die." The reasoning is straightforward: if you've truly honored those three commitments during your life, there's no shame or fear in death. This mirrored structure gives the conclusion a sense of inevitability rather than darkness—it's like a period at the end of a well-crafted sentence.
§04Tone & mood
How this poem feels
The tone is calm, firm, and almost ceremonial. There's no anxiety or pleading here — just a quiet statement of values. It feels more like an oath being sworn than an emotion being conveyed. The old-fashioned phrasing ("Live I") adds a sense of depth, as if these principles have been tested and proven over time.
§05Symbols & metaphors
Symbols & metaphors
- Lord
- Represents the divine — God or a higher spiritual authority. By prioritizing this commitment, it shows that faith is the bedrock on which everything else is built.
- Prince
- Represents earthly authority: the state, the sovereign, or civic duty in general. It sits in the middle between the sacred and the personal.
- Neighbor
- A representation of the human community — the people you live and work with every day. Being honest with your neighbor is the most direct, everyday way to express a good life.
- Die I, so die I
- Death here isn't a threat; it's a form of closure. It acts as a seal on the agreement mentioned earlier — if you live well, then dying becomes a natural and peaceful end.
§06Historical context
Historical context
Longfellow crafted this poem as a translation or loose adaptation of a German motto known as a *Lebensregel* (rule of life), which was popular in the early nineteenth century. The poem embodies the strong Protestant moral framework of New England during the 1800s, where the obligations to God, civic duty, and neighborly kindness were viewed as the three foundations of a respectable life. Longfellow wrote during a period when America was still shaping its civic identity, and short, memorable moral verses were a widespread cultural practice—often found in almanacs, etched into furniture, and taught to kids. The archaic phrasing ("Live I") intentionally mirrors older English and German styles, giving the poem a timeless, almost scriptural authority. Its conciseness is intentional: a law of life ought to be straightforward enough to recall when it’s most needed.
§07FAQ
Questions readers ask
It's a unique way of expressing "this is how I live" or "as I live, so I live" — suggesting that the three commitments that follow aren't just occasional choices but represent the speaker's consistent way of life. The unconventional word order adds a formal, almost oath-like tone.
In Longfellow's 19th-century New England Protestant background, "my Lord" signifies God. By prioritizing this relationship, faith becomes the cornerstone of the entire moral code.
"My Prince" symbolizes earthly authority—such as a king, government, or the state in general. Within the poem's hierarchy, civic duty ranks second, following devotion to God but preceding personal interactions with neighbors.
The brevity is intentional and carries its own significance. A "law of life" should be something memorable and easy to recall—something you can hold in your mind. Five lines addressing God, state, and community encompass all the essentials while remaining straightforward enough to follow in daily life.
It's a five-line stanza with a mirrored opening and closing line ("Live I, so live I" / "Die I, so die I"). The three middle lines share the same grammatical structure: "To my [relationship] [adverb]." This parallel format gives it the feel of a set of rules or vows.
It's rooted in a German *Lebensregel* — a "rule of life" — which was a popular moral saying in 19th-century German culture. Longfellow, a Harvard professor of modern languages with a strong grasp of German literature, translated it into English while maintaining its concise, aphoristic style.
The main themes include faith, emphasizing a duty to God; mortality, which reflects a calm acceptance of death in the final line; and identity, as the poem serves as a declaration of who the speaker is and how they choose to live. Additionally, there's a strong undercurrent of hope, suggesting that living rightly makes death something to embrace rather than fear.
Because a life lived fully leads to a peaceful death. Longfellow suggests that death seems frightening only when you've failed to uphold your commitments. Ending the poem with "Die I, so die I" transforms it into a declaration of confidence instead of fear—the life was fulfilled, and so is the death.
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