William Cowper

"No voice divine the storm allayd, No light propitious shone; When, snatchd from all effectual aid, We perishd, each alone; But I beneath a rougher sea, And whelmed in deeper gulphs than he."

"Old Tiney, the surliest of his kind! Who, nursed with tender care, And to domestic bounds confined, Was still a wild Jack hare.Though duly from my hand he took His pittance every night, He did it with a jealous look; And, when he could, would bite."

"My dog! what remedy remains, Since, teach you all I can, I see you, after all my pains, So much resemble man!"

"Society friendship and love Divinely bestowd upon man, O had I the wings of a dove How soon I would taste you again!"

"Philologists, who chase A panting syllable through time and space, Start it at home, and hunt it in the dark, To Gaul, to Greece, and into Noahs ark."

"The mind of Cowper was, so to speak, naturally terrestrial. If a man wishes for a nice appreciation of the details of time and sense, let him consult Cowpers miscellaneous letters. Each simple event of every day—each petty object of external observation or inward suggestion, is there chronicled with a fine and female fondness, a wise and happy faculty, let us say, of deriving a gentle happiness from the tranquil and passing hour."

"As when around the clear bright moon, the stars Shine in full splendor, and the winds are hushd, The groves, the mountain-tops, the headland-heights Stand all apparent, not a vapor streaks The boundless blue, but ether opend wide All glitters, and the shepherds heart is cheerd."

"But oars alone can neer prevail To reach the distant coast; The breath of Heaven must swell the sail, Or all the toil is lost."

"Damned below Judas; more abhorred than he was."

"Reasoning at every step he treads, Man yet mistakes his way, While meaner things, whom instinct leads, Are rarely known to stray."

"No dancing bear was so genteel Or half so dégagé."

"Sweet stream that winds through yonder glade, Apt emblem of a virtuous maid Silent and chaste she steals along, Far from the worlds gay busy throng: With gentle yet prevailing force, Intent upon her destined course; Graceful and useful all she does, Blessing and blest whereer she goes; Pure-bosomd as that watery glass, And Heaven reflected in her face."