Thousands, careless of the damning sin,
Kiss the book's outside who ne'er look within.
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
289 quotes
A knave, when tried on honesty's plain rule,
And, when by that of reason, a mere fool.
Hope (1782)
While fancy, like the finger of a clock,
Runs the great circuit, and is still at home.
The Task (1785)
Wisdom and goodness are twin-born, one heart
Must hold both sisters, never seen apart.
The Task (1785)
Freedom has a thousand charms to show,
That slaves, howe'er contented, never know.
Table Talk (1782)
All zeal for a reform, that gives offence
To peace and charity, is mere pretence.
The solemn fog; significant and budge;
A fool with judges, amongst fools a judge.
Conversation (1782)
Oh, fond attempt to give a deathless lot
To names ignoble, born to be forgot!
On Observing Some Names of Little Note Recorded in the Biographica Britannica (1782)
But war's a game, which, were their subjects wise,
Kings would not play at.
The Task (1785)
Presume to lay their hand upon the ark
Of her magnificent and awful cause.
The Task (1785)
The Task (1785)
Some to the fascination of a name,
Surrender judgment hoodwinked.
The Task (1785)
Misery still delights to trace
Its semblance in another's case.
The Castaway (1799)
His mind his kingdom, and his will his law.
Man on the dubious waves of error toss'd.
Is base in kind, and born to be a slave.
Table Talk (1782)
Attribution
Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: William Cowper (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.