William Cowper

I praise the Frenchman; his remark was shrewd,--
"How sweet, how passing sweet is solitude."
But grant read more

I praise the Frenchman; his remark was shrewd,--
"How sweet, how passing sweet is solitude."
But grant me still a friend in my retreat,
Whom I may whisper--Solitude is sweet.

Absence of occupation is not rest; A mind quite vacant is a mind distressed.

Absence of occupation is not rest; A mind quite vacant is a mind distressed.

Silently as a dream the fabric rose;
No sound of hammer or of saw was there.

Silently as a dream the fabric rose;
No sound of hammer or of saw was there.

Call'd to the temple of impure delight
He that abstains, and he alone, does right.
If a read more

Call'd to the temple of impure delight
He that abstains, and he alone, does right.
If a wish wander that way, call it home;
He cannot long be safe whose wishes roam.

His frown was full of terror, and his voice
Shook the delinquent with such fits of awe
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His frown was full of terror, and his voice
Shook the delinquent with such fits of awe
As left him not, till penitence had won
Lost favor back again, and clos'd the breach.