I wish I knew the good of wishing.

I wish I knew the good of wishing.

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.

What most we wish, with ease we fancy near.

What most we wish, with ease we fancy near.

Every wish
Is like a prayer--with God.

Every wish
Is like a prayer--with God.

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

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

Man wants but little, nor that little long;
How soon must he resign his very dust,
Which read more

Man wants but little, nor that little long;
How soon must he resign his very dust,
Which frugal nature lent him for an hour!

As you can not do what you wish, you should wish what you can do.
[Lat., Quoniam id fieri read more

As you can not do what you wish, you should wish what you can do.
[Lat., Quoniam id fieri quod vis non potest
Id velis quod possis.]

He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely read more

He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.

If I live to grow old, as I find I go down,
Let this be my fate in a read more

If I live to grow old, as I find I go down,
Let this be my fate in a country town;
May I have a warm house, with a stone at my gate,
And a cleanly young girl to rub my bald pate.
May I govern my passions with an absolute sway,
Grow wiser and better as my strength wears away,
Without gout or stone, by a gentle decay.
- Walter Pope, The Old Man's Wish,