The Task |
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Page 16
... the languid eye , the cheek Deserted of its bloom , the flaccid , shrunk , And wither'd muscle , and the vapid soul Reproach their owner with that love of rest To which he forfeits e'en the rest he loves . 16 BOOK I. THE TASK .
... the languid eye , the cheek Deserted of its bloom , the flaccid , shrunk , And wither'd muscle , and the vapid soul Reproach their owner with that love of rest To which he forfeits e'en the rest he loves . 16 BOOK I. THE TASK .
Page 32
... soul is sick , with every day's report Of wrong and outrage , with which Earth is fill'd . There is no flesh in man's obdurate heart , It does not feel for man ; the natural bond Of brotherhood is sever'd as the flax , That falls ...
... soul is sick , with every day's report Of wrong and outrage , with which Earth is fill'd . There is no flesh in man's obdurate heart , It does not feel for man ; the natural bond Of brotherhood is sever'd as the flax , That falls ...
Page 45
... soul I loathe All affectation . ' Tis my perfect scorn ; Object of my implacable disgust . What ? -will a man play tricks , will he indulge A silly fond conceit of his fair form , And just proportion , fashionable mien , And pretty face ...
... soul I loathe All affectation . ' Tis my perfect scorn ; Object of my implacable disgust . What ? -will a man play tricks , will he indulge A silly fond conceit of his fair form , And just proportion , fashionable mien , And pretty face ...
Page 47
... soul ; To break a jest , when pity should inspire Pathetic exhortation ; and to ' address The skittish fancy with facetious tales , When sent with God's commission to the heart ! So did not Paul . Direct me to a quip Or merry turn in ...
... soul ; To break a jest , when pity should inspire Pathetic exhortation ; and to ' address The skittish fancy with facetious tales , When sent with God's commission to the heart ! So did not Paul . Direct me to a quip Or merry turn in ...
Page 69
... souls to mine . God never meant that man should scale the heavens By strides of human wisdom . In his works Though wondrous , he commands us in his word To seek him rather where his mercy shines . The mind indeed , enlighten'd from ...
... souls to mine . God never meant that man should scale the heavens By strides of human wisdom . In his works Though wondrous , he commands us in his word To seek him rather where his mercy shines . The mind indeed , enlighten'd from ...
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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...