William Cowper Quotes
1731–1800 England
William Cowper (26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and hymnodist.
- England
- Hymnwriters
- Poets
- Translators
Also known as: Cowper, William
Random William Cowper quote
289 quotes
So man, the moth, is not afraid, it seems,
To span Omnipotence, and measure might
That knows no measure, by the scanty rule
And standard of his own, that is to-day,
And is not ere to-morrow's sun go down.
The Task (1785)
Acquaint thyself with God, if thou would'st taste
His works. Admitted once to his embrace,
Thou shalt perceive that thou wast 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.
The Task (1785)
No voice divine the storm allay'd,
No light propitious shone;
When, snatch'd from all effectual aid,
We perish'd, each alone;
But I beneath a rougher sea,
And whelmed in deeper gulphs than he.
No. 35, "Light Shining out of Darkness", st. 4
Olney Hymns (1779)
As when around the clear bright moon, the stars
Shine in full splendor, and the winds are hush'd,
The groves, the mountain-tops, the headland-heights
Stand all apparent, not a vapor streaks
The boundless blue, but ether open'd wide
All glitters, and the shepherd's heart is cheer'd.
The Iliad of Homer: translated into English blank verse (1791)
Alas! if my best Friend, who laid down His life for me, were to remember all the instances in which I have neglected Him, and to plead them against me in judgment, where should I hide my guilty head in the day of recompense? I will pray, therefore, for blessings on my friends, even though they cease to be so, and upon my enemies, though they continue such.
Ever let the Fancy roam,
Pleasure never is at home.
Misattributed
No man can be a patriot on an empty stomach.
Misattributed
The innocent seldom find an uncomfortable pillow.
Misattributed