Quote#Solitude
O solitude! where are the charms
Quote byWilliam Cowper · 1731–1800
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk (1782), Line 5.
English (original)
O solitude! where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face? Better dwell in the midst of alarms Than reign in this horrible place.
— William Cowper
More from William Cowper
But oars alone can ne'er 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.
Beware of desp'rate steps! The darkest day (Live till tomorrow) will have passed away.
Man disobeys, and deity disowns me.
Absence from whom we love is worse than death, And frustrate hope severer than despair.
Oh! I could thresh his old jacket till I made his pension jingle in his pockets.