The Task |
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Page 11
... dreams of fancy , tranquil and secure . Vain thought ! the dweller in that still retreat Dearly obtains the refuge it affords . Its elevated site forbids the wretch To drink sweet waters of the crystal well ; He dips his bowl into the ...
... dreams of fancy , tranquil and secure . Vain thought ! the dweller in that still retreat Dearly obtains the refuge it affords . Its elevated site forbids the wretch To drink sweet waters of the crystal well ; He dips his bowl into the ...
Page 21
... weep At what a sailor suffers ; fancy too , Delusive most where warmest wishes are , Would oft anticipate his glad return , And dream of transports she was not to know . She heard the doleful tidings of his death— And never THE SOFA . 21.
... weep At what a sailor suffers ; fancy too , Delusive most where warmest wishes are , Would oft anticipate his glad return , And dream of transports she was not to know . She heard the doleful tidings of his death— And never THE SOFA . 21.
Page 25
... dream is pass'd ; and thou hast found again Thy cocoas and bananas , palms and yams , · And homestall thatch'd with leaves . But hast thou found Their former charms ? And , having seen our state , Our palaces , our ladies , and our pomp ...
... dream is pass'd ; and thou hast found again Thy cocoas and bananas , palms and yams , · And homestall thatch'd with leaves . But hast thou found Their former charms ? And , having seen our state , Our palaces , our ladies , and our pomp ...
Page 26
... dream all night of what the day denied . Alas ! expect it not . We found no bait To tempt us in thy country . Doing good , Disinterested good , is not our trade . We travel far ' tis true , but not for nought ; And must be bribed to ...
... dream all night of what the day denied . Alas ! expect it not . We found no bait To tempt us in thy country . Doing good , Disinterested good , is not our trade . We travel far ' tis true , but not for nought ; And must be bribed to ...
Page 48
... dreams Illusive of philosophy , so call'd , But falsely . Sages after sages strove In vain to filter off a crystal draught Pure from the lees , which often more enhanced The thirst than slaked it , and not seldom bred Intoxication and ...
... dreams Illusive of philosophy , so call'd , But falsely . Sages after sages strove In vain to filter off a crystal draught Pure from the lees , which often more enhanced The thirst than slaked it , and not seldom bred Intoxication and ...
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Common terms and phrases
beauty beneath betimes boast breath call'd cause cerning charge CHARLES ROLLS charms clime delights design'd distant divine dream e'en Earth ease fair fame fancy feed feel field of glory flower folly form'd fountain of eternal frown fruits give glory grace grave groves hand happy heart Heaven honour human JOHN SHARPE king labour learn'd less live lost lyre Mighty winds mind mischief nature Nature's Nebaioth never o'er once palmistry pass'd peace perhaps pleasures plebeian praise prize proud prove rapture RICHARD WESTALL riddance rude rural sacred sake scene schools scorn seek seem'd shade shine slaves sleep sloth smile SOFA song soon soul sound spare stroke sweet task taste thee theme thine thou art toil touch'd trembling truth twas virtue WILLIAM COWPER wind winter wisdom wise wonder worth YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY youth
Popular passages
Page 154 - Knowledge dwells In heads replete with thoughts of other men ; Wisdom in minds attentive to their own. Knowledge a rude unprofitable mass, The mere materials with which wisdom builds, Till smoothed, and squared, and fitted to its place, Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich.
Page 121 - The cheerful haunts of man ; to wield the axe And drive the wedge in yonder forest drear, From morn to eve his solitary task.
Page 135 - Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume, And we are weeds without it. All constraint, Except what wisdom lays on evil men, Is evil; hurts the faculties, impedes Their progress in the road of science; blinds The eyesight of Discovery; and begets, In those that suffer it, a sordid mind Bestial, a meagre intellect, unfit To be the tenant of man's noble form.
Page 157 - And of an humbler growth, the other tall, And throwing up into the darkest gloom Of neighbouring cypress or more sable yew Her silver globes, light as the foamy surf That the wind severs from the broken wave ; The lilac, various in array, now white, Now sanguine, and her beauteous head now set With purple spikes pyramidal, as if Studious of ornament, yet unresolved Which hue she most approved, she chose them all...
Page 65 - My panting side was charged, when I withdrew To seek a tranquil death in distant shades.
Page 144 - His to enjoy, With a propriety that none can feel But who, with filial confidence inspired, Can lift to Heaven an unpresumptuous eye, And smiling say —
Page 125 - Some seek diversion in the tented field, And make the sorrows of mankind their sport. But war's a game which, were their subjects wise, Kings would not play at.
Page 14 - Here the gray smooth trunks Of ash, or lime, or beech, distinctly shine Within the twilight of their distant shades ; There, lost behind a rising ground, the wood Seems sunk, and shorten'd to its topmost boughs. No tree in all the grove but has its charms, Though each its hue peculiar...
Page 144 - They lived unknown Till Persecution dragg'd them into fame, And chased them up to heaven. Their ashes flew — No marble tells us whither. With their names No bard embalms and sanctifies his song : And history, so warm on meaner themes, Is cold on this.
Page 92 - And having dropped the expected bag — pass on. He whistles as he goes, light-hearted wretch, Cold and yet cheerful : messenger of grief Perhaps to thousands, and of joy to some, To him indifferent whether grief or joy...