Quotes
Quotes - Cowper
There is in souls a sympathy with sounds.
Words learn'd by rote a parrot may rehearse, But talking is not always to converse, Not more distinct from harmony divine The constant creaking of a country sign.
Now stir the fire, and close the shudders fast, Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round, And while the bubbling and loud-hissing urn Throws up a steamy column, and the cups, That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each, So let us welcome peaceful evening in.
Seek to delight, that they may mend mankind. And, while they captivate, inform the mind.
The sounding jargon of the schools.
And the tear that is wiped with a little address, May be follow'd perhaps by a smile.
Call'd to the temple of impure delight He that abstains, and he alone, does right. If a wish wander that way, call it home; He cannot long be safe whose wishes roam.
In indolent vacuity of thought.
No tree in all the grove but has its charms, Though each its hue peculiar.
Some boundless contiguity of shade.
We bear our shades about us; self-deprived Of other screen, the thin umbrella spread, And range an Indian waste without a tree.
The earth was made so various, that the mind Of desultory man, studious of change And pleased with novelty, might be indulged.
Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavour.
Variety's the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor.
The only amarantine flower on earth Is virtue.
Ten thousand casks, Forever dribbling out their base contents, Touch'd by the Midas finger of the state, Bleed gold for ministers to sport away. Drink, and be mad then; 'tis your country bids!
O Winter! ruler of the inverted year, . . . . I crown thee king of intimate delights, Fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness, And all the comforts that the lowly roof Of undisturb'd Retirement, and the hours Of long uninterrupted evening, know.
Wisdom and goodness are twin-born, one heart Must hold both sisters, never seen apart.
His wit invites you by his looks to come, But when you knock, it never is at home.
Wit, now and then, struck smartly, shows a spark.
What is there in the vale of life Half so delightful as a wife, When friendship, love, and peace combine To stamp the marriage-bond divine?
God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.
Be it a weakness, it deserves some praise, We love the play-place of our early days; The scene is touching, and the heart is stone, That feels not at that sight, and feels at none.
