John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
Page 416
William Cowper. (1731–1800) (continued) |
4478 |
Philologists, who chase A panting syllable through time and space, Start it at home, and hunt it in the dark To Gaul, to Greece, and into Noah’s ark. |
Retirement. Line 691. |
4479 |
I praise the Frenchman, 1 his remark was shrewd,— How sweet, how passing sweet, is solitude! But grant me still a friend in my retreat, Whom I may whisper, Solitude is sweet. |
Retirement. Line 739. |
4480 |
A kick that scarce would move a horse May kill a sound divine. |
The Yearly Distress. |
4481 |
I am monarch of all I survey, My right there is none to dispute. |
Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk. |
4482 |
O Solitude! where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face? |
Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk. |
4483 |
But the sound of the church-going bell These valleys and rocks never heard; Ne’er sigh’d at the sound of a knell, Or smiled when a Sabbath appear’d. |
Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk. |
4484 |
How fleet is a glance of the mind! Compared with the speed of its flight The tempest itself lags behind, And the swift-winged arrows of light. |
Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk. |
4485 |
There goes the parson, O illustrious spark! And there, scarce less illustrious, goes the clerk. |
On observing some Names of Little Note. |
4486 |
But oars alone can ne’er prevail To reach the distant coast; The breath of heaven must swell the sail, Or all the toil is lost. |
Human Frailty. |
4487 |
And the tear that is wiped with a little address, May be follow’d perhaps by a smile. |
The Rose. |
Note 1. La Bruyère. [back] |