He calls his wish, it comes; he sends it back,
And says he called another; that arrives,
read more

He calls his wish, it comes; he sends it back,
And says he called another; that arrives,
Meets the same welcome; yet he still calls on;
Till one calls him, who varies not his call,
But holds him fast, in chains of darkness bound,
Till Nature dies, and judgment sets him free;
A freedom far less welcome than this chain.

Every wish
Is like a prayer--with God.

Every wish
Is like a prayer--with God.

I've often wished that I had clear,
For life, six hundred pounds a year,
A handsome house read more

I've often wished that I had clear,
For life, six hundred pounds a year,
A handsome house to lodge a friend,
A river at my garden's end,
A terrace walk, and half a rood
Of land, set out to plant a wood.

You have wished it so, you have wished it so, George Dandin, you
have wished it so.
[Fr., read more

You have wished it so, you have wished it so, George Dandin, you
have wished it so.
[Fr., Vous l'avez voulu, vous l'avez voulu, George Dandin, vous
l'avez voulu.]

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.

O, that I were where I would be,
Then would I be where I am not;
For read more

O, that I were where I would be,
Then would I be where I am not;
For where I am I would not be,
And where I would be I can not.

And the evil wish is most evil to the wisher.

And the evil wish is most evil to the wisher.

Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.

Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.

What folly can be ranker. Like our shadows,
Our wishes lengthen as our sun declines.

What folly can be ranker. Like our shadows,
Our wishes lengthen as our sun declines.