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William Cowper on Anniversary

1731–1800 England

← All quotes by William Cowper

9 quotes

Our love is principle, and has its root
In reason, is judicious, manly, free.

The Task (1785)

Absence from whom we love is worse than death,
And frustrate hope severer than despair.

Misses! the tale that I relate
This lesson seems to carry —
Choose not alone a proper mate,
But proper time to marry.

Time, as he passes us, has a dove's wing,
Unsoil'd, and swift, and of a silken sound.

The Task (1785)

Society friendship and love
Divinely bestow'd upon man,
O had I the wings of a dove
How soon I would taste you again!

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk (1782)

Domestic happiness, thou only bliss
Of Paradise that has surviv'd the fall!

The Task (1785)

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?

Heaven's harmony is universal love.

And still to love, though prest with ill,
In wintry age to feel no chill,
With me is to be lovely still,
My Mary!

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: William Cowper (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.