Hoyt & Roberts, comps. Hoyt’s New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations. 1922.
Thames
O, could I flow like thee! and make thy stream
My great example, as it is my theme;
Though deep yet clear, though gentle yet not dull;
Strong without rage, without o’erflowing full.
Sir John Denham—Cooper’s Hill. L. 189. Latin prose with same idea found in a letter of Roger Ascham’s to Sir William Petre. Epistles. P. 254. (Ed. 1590).
Serene yet strong, majestic yet sedate,
Swift without violence, without terror great.
Prior—Carmen Seculare. L. 200. Imitation of Denham.
Slow let us trace the matchless vale of Thames;
Fair winding up to where the Muses haunt
In Twit’nham bowers, and for their Pope implore.
Thomson—Seasons. Summer. L. 1,425.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendor, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will.
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
Wordsworth—Sonnet. Composed upon Westminster Bridge.