289 quotes
When one that holds communion with the skies
Has fill'd his urn where these pure waters rise,
And once more mingles with us meaner things,
'Tis e'en as if an angel shook his wings.
The priest he merry is, and blithe
Three-quarters of a year,
But oh! it cuts him like a scythe
When tithing time draws near.
Religion! what treasure untold
Resides in that heavenly word!
Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk (1782)
Graceful and useful all she does,
Blessing and blest where'er she goes;
Pure-bosom'd as that watery glass,
And Heaven reflected in her face.
To a Young Lady (1782)
An honest man, close-button'd to the chin,
Broadcloth without, and a warm heart within.
But who with filial confidence inspired,
Can lift to Heaven an unpresumptuous eye,
And smiling say, My Father made them all.
The Task (1785)
Well thou play'dst the housewife's part,
And all thy threads with magic art
Have wound themselves about this heart,
My Mary.
What peaceful hours I once enjoy'd!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.
I shall not ask Jean Jacques Rousseau,
If birds confabulate or no.
Passing Time Anticipated (1795)
With melting airs, or martial, brisk, or grave;
Some chord in unison with what we hear
Is touch'd within us, and the heart replies.
The Task (1785)
That, though on pleasure she was bent,
She had a frugal mind.
'Tis pleasant, through the loopholes of retreat,
To peep at such a world; to see the stir
Of the Great Babel, and not feel the crowd.
The Task (1785)
I am monarch of all I survey,
My right there is none to dispute;
From the center all round to the sea
I am lord of the fowl and the brute.
Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk (1782)
The disencumbered Atlas of the state.
Retirement (1782)
I would not enter on my list of friends
(Though graced with polish'd manners and fine sense,
Yet wanting sensibility) the man
Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.
The Task (1785)
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.
But truths on which depends our main concern,
That 'tis our shame and mistery not to learn,
Shine by the side of every path we tread
With such a luster, he that runs may read.
Truths...
Shine by the side of every path we tread
With such a luster, he that runs may read.
There goes the parson, oh illustrious spark!
And there, scarce less illustrious, goes the clerk.
Beware of desp'rate steps! The darkest day
(Live till tomorrow) will have passed away.