William Cowper Quotes
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Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan his work in vain; God is his own interpreter, And he will make it plain.
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Misses! the tale that I relate This lesson seems to carry-- Choose not alone a proper mate, But proper time to marry.
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Religion does not censure or exclude Unnumbered pleasures, harmlessly pursued.
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And hast thou sworn on every slight pretence, Till perjuries are common as bad pence, While thousands, careless of the damning sin, Kiss the book's outside, who ne'er look'd within?
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We turn to dust, and all our mightiest works die too.
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Great contest follows, and much learned dust Involves the combatants; each claiming truth, And truth disclaiming both.
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Friends, books, a garden, and perhaps his pen, Delightful industry enjoy'd at home, An Nature, in her cultivated trim Dress'ed to his taste, inviting him abroad - Can he want occupation who has these?
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Transforms old print To zigzag manuscript, and cheats the eyes Of gallery critics by a thousand arts.
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In the vast, and the minute, we see The unambiguous footsteps of the God, Who gives its lustre to an insect's wing And wheels His throne upon the rolling worlds.
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Religion, richest favor of the skies.
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God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines Of never failing skill He treasures up his bright designs, And works his sovereign will. Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy, and shall break In blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust him for his grace; Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.
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No traveler e'er reached that blest abode who found not thorns and briers in his road.
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They best can judge a poet's worth, Who oft themselves have known The pangs of a poetic birth By labours of their own.
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But, oh, Thou bounteous Giver of all good, Thou art, of all Thy gifts, Thyself thy crown!
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Could he with reason murmur at his case, Himself sole author of his own disgrace?
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There is mercy in every place. And mercy, encouraging thought gives even affliction a grace and reconciles man to his lot.
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But conversation, choose what theme we may, And chiefly when religion leads the way, Should flow, like waters after summer show'rs, Not as if raised by mere mechanic powers.
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A fretful temper will divide the closest knot that may be tied, by ceaseless sharp corrosion; a temper passionate and fierce may suddenly your joys disperse at one immense explosion.
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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.
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How happy it is to believe, with a steadfast assurance, that our petitions are heard even while we are making them; and how delightful to meet with a proof of it in the effectual and actual grant of them.
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How much a dunce that has been sent to roam, excels a dunce that has been kept at home.
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It is a general rule of Judgment, that a mischief should rather be admitted than an inconvenience.
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I have a kitten,the drollest of all creatures that ever wore a cat's skin.
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There is a mixture of evil in everything we do; indulgence encourages us to encroach, while we Crabbe exercise the rights of children, we become childish.