William Cowper Quotes

309 Sourced Quotes

She, that will with kittens jest, Should bear a kitten's joke.

William Cowper
He is the freeman whom the truth makes free,
And all are slaves besides.

William Cowper
Admirals extolled for standing still,
Or doing nothing with a deal of skill.

William Cowper
Gloriously drunk, obey th' important call.

William Cowper
Pleasure admitted in undue degree, enslaves the will, nor leaves the judgment free.

William Cowper
A fretful temper will divide the closest knot that may be tied, by ceaseless sharp corrosion; a temper passionate and fierce may suddenly your joys disperse at one immense explosion.

William Cowper
Shine by the side of every path we tread
With such a luster, he that runs may read.

William Cowper
All zeal for a reform, that gives offense
To peace and charity, is mere pretense.

William Cowper
Some drill and bore
The solid earth, and from the strata there
Extract a register, by which we learn,
That he who made it, and reveal'd its date
To Moses, was mistaken in its age.

William Cowper
Acquaint thyself with God, if thou would'st taste
His works. Admitted once to his embrace,
Thou shalt perceive that thou was blind before:
Thine eye shall be instructed; and thine heart
Made pure shall relish with divine delight
Till then unfelt, what hands divine have wrought.

William Cowper
Lord, it is my chief complaint, That my love is weak and faint; Yet I love thee and adore, Oh for grace to love thee more!

William Cowper
Nature is but a name for an effect,
Whose cause is God.

William Cowper
Thus happiness depends, as Nature shows,
Less on exterior things than most suppose.

William Cowper
Our love is principle, and has its root
In reason, is judicious, manly, free.

William Cowper
Some to the fascination of a name
Surrender judgment hoodwink'd.

William Cowper
This fond attachment to the well-known place
Whence first we started into life's long race,
Maintains its hold with such unfailing sway,
We feel it e'en in age, and at our latest day.

William Cowper
Great contest follows, and much learned dust
Involves the combatants; each claiming truth,
And truth disclaiming both.

William Cowper
It seems idolatry with some excuse,
When our forefather Druids in their oaks
Imagined sanctity.

William Cowper
Even in the stifling bosom of the town,
A garden, in which nothing thrives, has charms
That soothes the rich possessor; much consol'd,
That here and there some sprigs of mournful mint,
Or nightshade, or valerian, grace the well
He cultivates.

William Cowper
But what is man in his own proud esteem?
Hear him, himself the poet and the theme;
A monarch clothed with majesty and awe,
His mind his kingdom and his will his law.

William Cowper
A man renowned for repartee will seldom scruple to make free with friendship's finest feeling, will thrust a dagger at your breast, and say he wounded you in jest, by way of balm for healing.

William Cowper
There is a bird who by his coat,
And by the hoarseness of his note,
Might be supposed a crow.

William Cowper
'T is Providence alone secures
In every change both mine and yours.

William Cowper
Newton, childlike sage!
Sagacious reader of the works of God.

William Cowper
But that disease when soberly defined
Is the false fire of an o'erheated mind.

William Cowper
When poets talk of cottages and hermitages, and such like matters, they mean a house with six sashes in front, two comfortable parlours, a smart staircase and three bed-chambers of convenient dimensions; in short, exactly such a house as this.
Letter to Lady Hesketh, 26 November 1786

William Cowper
Lived in his saddle, loved the chase, the course, And always, ere he mounted, kiss'd his horse.

William Cowper
The pipe with solemn interposing puff,
Makes half a sentence at a time enough;
The dozing sages drop the drowsy strain,
Then pause, and puff—and speak, and pause again.

William Cowper
There goes the parson, O illustrious spark!
And there, scarce less illustrious, goes the clerk.

William Cowper
Where men of judgment creep and feel their way, The positive pronounce without dismay.

William Cowper