William Cowper

"Sometimes a light surprises     The Christian while he sings;     It is the Lord who rises     With healing in his wings:     When comforts ar"

"To watch the storms, and hear the sky     Give all our almanacks the lie;     To shake with cold, and see the plains     In autumn drownd with"

"Jesus! whereer thy people meet,     There they behold thy mercy seat;     Whereer thy seek thee, thou art found,     And every place is hallo"

"Argument Of The Fourth Book.     In a Council of the Gods, a dispute arises between Jupiter and Juno, which is at last compromised, Jove conse"

"Farewell! endued with all that could engage     All hearts to love thee, both in youth and age!     In prime of life, for sprightliness enrolld"

"Qua nihil majus meliusve terris     Fata donavre, bonique divi;     Nec dabunt, quamvis redeant in aurum     Tempora priscum.     - Hor. Lib."

"Hence, my epistle--skim the Deep--fly o'er Yon smooth expanse to the Teutonic shore! Haste--lest a friend should grieve for thy delay-- And the Gods g"

"Here lies one who never drew     Blood himself, yet many slew;     Gave the gun its aim, and figure     Made in field, yet neer pulld trigger"

"ARGUMENT     The beggar Irus arrives at the palace; a combat takes place between him and Ulysses, in which Irus is by one blow vanquished. Penel"

"No strength of nature can suffice     To serve the Lord aright:     And what she has she misapplies,     For want of clearer light.     How"

"ARGUMENT     Ulysses with some difficulty, convinces Penelope of his identity, who at length, overcome by force of evidence, receives him to her"

"His master taken from his head,     Elisha saw him go;     And in desponding accents said,     Ah, what must Israel do?     But he forgot"

"Hark, my soul! it is the Lord:     Tis thy Saviour, hear his word;     Jesus speaks, and speaks to thee:     Say, poor sinner, lovest thou me"

"As birds their infant brood protect,[1]     And spread their wings to shelter them,     Thus saith the Lord to his elect,     So will I guard"

"When Israel by Jehovah call'd          From Egypt's hostile plain,     Pour'd forth in numbers as the Sand          And sought the adjacent mai"

"When Hagar found the bottle spent,     And wept oer Ishmael,     A message from the Lord was sent     To guide her to a well.[1]     Should"

"Video meliora proboque,     Deteriora sequor.     I own I am shockd at the purchase of slaves,     And fear those who buy them and sell them"

"Thy mansion is the Christians heart,     O Lord, thy dwelling-place secure!     Bid the unruly throng depart,     And leave the consecrated do"

"Hackneyd in business, wearied at that oar,     Which thousands, once fast chaind to, quit no more,     But which, when life at ebb runs weak a"

"There is a fountain filld with blood     Drawn from Emmanuels veins;     And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,     Lose all their guilty s"

"This cap, that so stately appears,     With ribbon-bound tassel on high,     Which seems by the crest that it rears     Ambitious of brushing t"

"Sin has undone our wretched race,     But Jesus has restored,     And brought the sinner face to face     With his forgiving Lord.     This"

"I shall not ask Jean Jaques Rousseau[1]     If birds confabulate or no;     Tis clear, that they were always able     To hold discourse, at le"

"The saints should never be dismayd,     Nor sink in hopeless fear;     For when they least expect his aid,     The Saviour will appear."

"My lids with grief were tumid yet, And still my sullied cheek was wet With briny dews profusely shed For venerable Winton dead,[2] When Fame, whose ta"

"Quales aerii montis de vertice nubes Cum surgunt, et jam Boreae tumida ora quierunt, Caelum hilares abdit spissa caligine vultus, Nimbosumque nives au"

"Hastings! I knew thee young, and of a mind,     While young, humane, conversable, and kind,     Nor can I well believe thee, gentle then,     N"

"Forced from home and all its pleasures,     Africs coast I left forlorn;     To increase a strangers treasures,     Oer the raging billows b"

"Subjoined To The Yearly Bill Of Mortality Of The Parish Of All Saints, Northampton, Anno Domini 1787.     (Composed for John Cox, parish clerk"

"Where hast thou floated, in what seas pursued     Thy pastime? when wast thou an egg new spawnd,     Lost in the immensity of oceans waste?"

"Oh! for a closer walk with God,     A calm and heavenly frame;     A light to shine upon the road     That leads me to the Lamb!     Where i"

"When darkness long has veild my mind,     And smiling day once more appears;     Then, my Redeemer, then I find     The folly of my doubts and"

"Tantane, tam patiens, nullo certamine tolli     Dona sines?     - Virg.     Why, weeps the muse for England? What appears     In Englands"

"Written in the summer of 1783, at the request of Lady Austen, who gave the sentiment.     AirMy fond Shepherds of late.     No longer I f"

"ARGUMENT     Ulysses, pursuing his narrative, relates his return from the shades to Circe's island, the precautions given him by that Goddess, h"

"De sacris autem hc sit una sententia, ut conserventur.     - Cic. de Leg.     But let us all concur in this one sentiment, that things sacred"

"Oh for a lodge in some vast wilderness,     Some boundless contiguity of shade,     Where rumour of oppression and deceit,     Of unsuccessful"

"Whence is it that, amazed, I hear     From yonder witherd spray,     This foremost morn of all the year,     The melody of May?     And why"

"Holy Lord God! I love thy truth,     Nor dare thy least commandment slight;     Yet pierced by sin, the serpents tooth,     I mourn the anguis"

"Argument Of The Seventh Book.     Ajax and Hector engage in single combat. The Grecians fortify their camp.      So saying, illustrious He"

"The swallows in their torpid state     Compose their useless wing,     And bees in hives as idly wait     The call of early Spring.     The"

"Thee, whose refulgent staff and summons clear,          Minerva's flock longtime was wont t'obey,     Although thyself an herald, famous here,"

"I was a grovelling creature once,     And basely cleaved to earth;     I wanted spirit to renounce     The clod that gave me birth.     But"

"Sir, when I flew to seize the bird     In spite of your command,     A louder voice than yours I heard,     And harder to withstand.     You"

"ARGUMENT     In a council of the Gods, Minerva calls their attention to Ulysses, still a wanderer. They resolve to grant him a safe return to It"

"Breathe from the gentle south, O Lord,     And cheer me from the north;     Blow on the treasures of thy word,     And call the spices forth!"

"- Placidque ibi demum morte quievit.Virg.     There calm at length he breathed his soul away.     O most delightful hour by man     Expe"

"Other stones the era tell     When some feeble mortal fell;     I stand here to date the birth     Of these hardy sons of earth.     Which sha"

"A noble theme demands a noble verse,     In such I thank you for your fine oysters.     The barrel was magnificently large,     But, being sent"

"The poplars are felld, farewell to the shade,     And the whispering sound of the cool colonnade;     The winds play no longer and sing in the"

"ARGUMENT     The Phacians consult on the subject of Ulysses. Preparation is made for his departure. Antinos entertains them at his table. Game"

"What is there in the vale of life     Half so delightful as a wife,     When friendship, love, and peace combine     To stamp the marriage-bond"

"God moves in a mysterious way     His wonders to perform;     He plants his footsteps in the sea,     And rides upon the storm.     Deep in"

"Oh that Pieria's spring[1] would thro' my breast     Pour its inspiring influence, and rush     No rill, but rather an o'erflowing flood!     T"

"To those who know the Lord I speak,     Is my beloved near?     The bridegroom of my soul I seek,     Oh! when will he appear?     Though on"

"ARGUMENT     Telemachus, with Pisistratus, arrives at the palace of Menelaus, from whom he receives some fresh information concerning the return"

"My halting Muse, that dragg'st by choice along     Thy slow, slow step, in melancholy song!     And lik'st that pace expressive of thy cares"

"Strophe I My two-fold Book! single in show But double in Contents, Neat, but not curiously adorn'd Which in his early youth, A poet gave, no lofty one"

"Here, free from riots hated noise,     Be mine, ye calmer, purer joys,     A book or friend bestows;     Far from the storms that shake the gr"

"I am monarch of all I survey,     My right there is none to dispute;     From the centre all round to the sea     I am lord of the fowl and the"