William Cowper ( 10 of 184 )
'Twere better to be born a stone
Of ruder shape, and feeling none,
Than with a tenderness read more
'Twere better to be born a stone
Of ruder shape, and feeling none,
Than with a tenderness like mine
And sensibilities so fine!
Ah, hapless wretch! condemn'd to dwell
Forever in my native shell,
Ordained to move when others please,
Not for my own content or ease;
But toss'd and buffeted about,
Now in the water and now out.
Whoever keeps an open ear
For tattlers will be sure to hear
The trumpet of contention.
Whoever keeps an open ear
For tattlers will be sure to hear
The trumpet of contention.
. . . thieves at home must hang; but he that puts
Into his overgorged and bloated purse
read more
. . . thieves at home must hang; but he that puts
Into his overgorged and bloated purse
The wealth of Indian provinces, escapes.
The still small voice is wanted.
The still small voice is wanted.
The path of sorrow, and that path alone,
Leads to the lands where sorrow is unknown.
The path of sorrow, and that path alone,
Leads to the lands where sorrow is unknown.
I'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to
be living apart.
I'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to
be living apart.
But many a crime deemed innocent on earth
Is registered in Heaven; and these no doubt
Have read more
But many a crime deemed innocent on earth
Is registered in Heaven; and these no doubt
Have each their record, with a curse annex'd.
None but an author knows an author's cares,
Or Fancy's fondness for the child she bears.
None but an author knows an author's cares,
Or Fancy's fondness for the child she bears.
And prate and preach about what others prove,
As if the world and they were hand and glove.
And prate and preach about what others prove,
As if the world and they were hand and glove.
. . . Philologists, who chase
A painting syllable through time and space
Start it at home, read more
. . . Philologists, who chase
A painting syllable through time and space
Start it at home, and hunt it in the dark,
To Gaul, to Greece, and into Noah's Ark.
