William Cowper

The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.

The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.

O Popular Applause! what heart of man
Is proof against thy sweet, seducing charms?

O Popular Applause! what heart of man
Is proof against thy sweet, seducing charms?

He whistles as he goes, light-hearted wretch,
Cold and yet cheerful; messenger of grief
Perhaps to thousands, read more

He whistles as he goes, light-hearted wretch,
Cold and yet cheerful; messenger of grief
Perhaps to thousands, and of joy to some.

Hast thou not learn'd what thou art often told,
A truth still sacred, and believed of old,
read more

Hast thou not learn'd what thou art often told,
A truth still sacred, and believed of old,
That no success attends on spears and swords
Unblest, and that the battle is the Lord's?

How fleet is a glance of the mind!
Compared with the speed of its flight,
The tempest read more

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.