I wish I knew the good of wishing.

I wish I knew the good of wishing.

Of all complexions the culled sovereignty
Do meet, as at a fair, in her fair cheek,
Where read more

Of all complexions the culled sovereignty
Do meet, as at a fair, in her fair cheek,
Where several worthies make one dignity,
Where nothing wants that want itself doth seek.

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.

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.]

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,

With all thy sober charms possest,
Whose wishes never learnt to stray.

With all thy sober charms possest,
Whose wishes never learnt to stray.

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.]

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.

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.