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.

Wert thou all that I wish thee, great, glorious and free,
First flower of the earth, and first gem read more

Wert thou all that I wish thee, great, glorious and free,
First flower of the earth, and first gem of the sea.

What most we wish, with ease we fancy near.

What most we wish, with ease we fancy near.

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.

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.

What one has wished for in youth, in old age one has in
abundance.
[Ger., Was man in read more

What one has wished for in youth, in old age one has in
abundance.
[Ger., Was man in der Jugend wunscht, hat man im Alter die
Fulle.]

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.

Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long.

Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long.

If a man could half his wishes he would double his Troubles.

If a man could half his wishes he would double his Troubles.