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Quotes from Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk — William Cowper

1731–1800 England

← All quotes by William Cowper

9 quotes

O solitude! where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy face?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms
Than reign in this horrible place.

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk (1782)

How fleet is a glance of the mind!
Compared with the speed of its flight
The tempest itself lags behind,
And the swift-winged arrows of light.

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk (1782)

There is mercy in every place,
And mercy, encouraging thought!
Gives even affliction a grace
And reconciles man to his lot.

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk (1782)

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)

But the sound of the church-going bell
These valleys and rocks never heard;
Ne'er sigh'd at the sound of a knell,
Or smiled when a Sabbath appear'd.

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk (1782)

Religion! what treasure untold
Resides in that heavenly word!

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk (1782)

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)

I am out of humanity's reach.
I must finish my journey alone,
Never hear the sweet music of speech;
I start at the sound of my own.

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk (1782)

My friends, do they now and then send
A wish or a thought after me?
O tell me I yet have a friend,
Though a friend I am never to see.

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk (1782)

Attribution

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