Page 416

William Cowper. (1731–1800) (continued)

4478

Philologists, who chase
A panting syllable through time and space,
Start it at home, and hunt it in the dark
To Gaul, to Greece, and into Noah’s ark.

Retirement. Line 691.

4479

I praise the Frenchman, 1 his remark was shrewd,—
How sweet, how passing sweet, is solitude!
But grant me still a friend in my retreat,
Whom I may whisper, Solitude is sweet.

Retirement. Line 739.

4480

A kick that scarce would move a horse
May kill a sound divine.

The Yearly Distress.

4481

I am monarch of all I survey,
My right there is none to dispute.

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk.

4482

O Solitude! where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy face?

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk.

4483

    But the sound of the church-going bell
  These valleys and rocks never heard;
Ne’er sigh’d at the sound of a knell,
  Or smiled when a Sabbath appear’d.

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk.

4484

    How fleet is a glance of the mind!
  Compared with the speed of its flight
The tempest itself lags behind,
  And the swift-winged arrows of light.

Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk.

4485

There goes the parson, O illustrious spark!
And there, scarce less illustrious, goes the clerk.

On observing some Names of Little Note.

4486

    But oars alone can ne’er prevail
  To reach the distant coast;
The breath of heaven must swell the sail,
  Or all the toil is lost.

Human Frailty.

4487

And the tear that is wiped with a little address,
May be follow’d perhaps by a smile.

The Rose.

Note 1.
La Bruyère. [back]

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