204 Famous Quotes by William Cowper
11/26/1731 - 4/25/1800
Also Known As:
Cowper, William
Professions:
Information:
About William Cowper
William Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him "the best modern poet", whilst William Wordsworth particularly admired his poem Yardley-Oak. He was a nephew of the poet Judith Madan.
Although after being institutionalised for insanity in the period 1763-65, Cowper found refuge in a fervent evangelical Christianity, the inspiration behind his much-loved hymns, he often experienced doubt and after a dream in 1773 believed that he was doomed to eternal damnation. His religious sentiment and association with John Newton led to much of the poetry for which he is best remembered. His poem "Light Shining out of Darkness" gave the English language the idiom "God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform."
Prison'd in a parlour snug and small,
Like bottled wasps upon a southern wall.
Prison
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Retirement (l. 493)
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All zeal for a reform, that gives offence
To peace and charity, is mere pretence.
Reform
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Charity (l. 533)
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His wit invites you by his looks to come,
But when you knock, it never is at home.
Wit
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Conversation (l. 303)
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Now stir the fire, and close the shudders fast,
Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round,
And while the bubbling and loud-hissing urn
Throws up a steamy column, and the cups,
That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each,
So let us welcome peaceful evening in.
Tea
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Task (bk. IV, l. 36)
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Whoever keeps an open ear
For tattlers will be sure to hear
The trumpet of contention.
Gossip
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Friendship (st. 17)
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Assail'd by scandal and the tongue of strife,
His only answer was a blameless life;
And he that forged, and he that threw the dart,
Had each a brother's interest in his heart.
Scandal
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Hope (l. 570)
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Words learn'd by rote a parrot may rehearse,
But talking is not always to converse,
Not more distinct from harmony divine
The constant creaking of a country sign.
Talk
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Conversation (l. 7)
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No tree in all the grove but has its charms,
Though each its hue peculiar.
Trees
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Task (bk. I, l. 307)
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Call'd to the temple of impure delight
He that abstains, and he alone, does right.
If a wish wander that way, call it home;
He cannot long be safe whose wishes roam.
Temperance
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Progress of Error (l. 557)
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And the tear that is wiped with a little address,
May be follow'd perhaps by a smile.
Tears
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: The Rose
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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.
Boating
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Human Frailty (st. 6)
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A story, in which native humour reigns,
Is often useful, always entertains;
A graver fact, enlisted on your side,
May furnish illustration, well applied;
But sedentary weavers of long tales
Give me the fidgets, and my patience fails.
Story telling
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Conversation (l. 203)
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Wisdom and goodness are twin-born, one heart
Must hold both sisters, never seen apart.
Wisdom
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Expostulation (l. 634)
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He would not, with a peremptory tone,
Assert the nose upon his face his own.
Doubt
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Conversation (l. 121)
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He whistles as he goes, light-hearted wretch,
Cold and yet cheerful; messenger of grief
Perhaps to thousands, and of joy to some.
Post
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Winter Evening (bk. IV, l. 12), of the postman
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The path of sorrow, and that path alone,
Leads to the lands where sorrow is unknown.
Sorrow
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: To an Afflicted Protestant Lady
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As creeping ivy clings to wood or stone,
And hides the ruin that it feeds upon.
Ivy
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: The Progress of Error (l. 285)
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An inadvertent step may crush the snail
That crawls at evening in the public path.
But he that has humanity, forewarned,
Will turn aside and let the reptile live.
Humanity
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Task (bk. VI)
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Our wasted oil unprofitably burns,
Like hidden lamps in old sepulchral urns.
Loss
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: Conversation (l. 357), referring to story told by Pancirollus of lamp burned in the tomb of Tullia
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For 'tis a truth well known to most,
That whatsoever thing is lost,
We seek it, ere it comes to light,
In every cranny but the right.
Loss
Quotes, by William Cowper , Source: The Retired Cat (l. 95)
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