The Task: A Poem. In Six Books |
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Page 12
... virtue .... The South Sea islanders compassion- ated , but chiefly Omai .... His present state of mind supposed .... Civilized life friendly to virtue , but not great cities .... Great cities , and London in particular , allowed their ...
... virtue .... The South Sea islanders compassion- ated , but chiefly Omai .... His present state of mind supposed .... Civilized life friendly to virtue , but not great cities .... Great cities , and London in particular , allowed their ...
Page 18
... virtues , could alone inspire .... Witness a joy that thou hast doubled long . Thou know'st my praise of nature most sincere , And that my raptures are not conjur'd up To serve occasions of poetic pomp , But genuine , and art partner of ...
... virtues , could alone inspire .... Witness a joy that thou hast doubled long . Thou know'st my praise of nature most sincere , And that my raptures are not conjur'd up To serve occasions of poetic pomp , But genuine , and art partner of ...
Page 32
... virtue thrives as in her proper soil ; Not rude and surly , and beset with thorns , And terrible to sight , as when she springs ( If e'er she springs spontaneous ) in remote And barb'rous climes , where violence prevails , And strength ...
... virtue thrives as in her proper soil ; Not rude and surly , and beset with thorns , And terrible to sight , as when she springs ( If e'er she springs spontaneous ) in remote And barb'rous climes , where violence prevails , And strength ...
Page 33
... virtue ; and , inert Through plenty , lose in morals what they gain In manners .... victims of luxurious ease . These therefore I can pity , plac'd remote From all that science traces , art invents , Or inspiration teaches ; and enclos ...
... virtue ; and , inert Through plenty , lose in morals what they gain In manners .... victims of luxurious ease . These therefore I can pity , plac'd remote From all that science traces , art invents , Or inspiration teaches ; and enclos ...
Page 35
... virtue in the mild And genial soil of cultivated life Thrive most , and may perhaps thrive only there , Yet not in cities oft : in proud , and gay , And gain - devoted cities . Thither flow As to a common and most noisome sewer , The ...
... virtue in the mild And genial soil of cultivated life Thrive most , and may perhaps thrive only there , Yet not in cities oft : in proud , and gay , And gain - devoted cities . Thither flow As to a common and most noisome sewer , The ...
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Common terms and phrases
beauty beneath blank verse boast breath cause charg'd charms clime Cowper death Deciduous deep delight distant divine dream earth ease England ev'n ev'ry fair fancy favor'd fear feeds feel field of glory fix'd flow'rs folly form'd fountain of eternal frown fruit gives glory grace grave groves hand happiness hassocks hast heart heav'n honor hosanna human king labor less liberty lost lov'd lyre Mighty winds mind mov'd nature nature's Nebaioth never o'er once peace pity pleas'd pleasure POEM poets pow'r praise proud rapture riddance rude rural sacred sake scene seek seem'd shade shine sighs silent sleep sloth smiles SOFA soft song soon soul sound stream stroke sublime sweet task taste thee theme thine thou art toil touch'd trembling truth twas vale virtue wand'ring weary WILLIAM COWPER wind winter wisdom worthy
Popular passages
Page 52 - Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds May feel it too ; affectionate in look, And tender in address, as well becomes A messenger of grace to guilty men.
Page 41 - OH for a lodge in some vast wilderness, Some boundless contiguity of shade, Where rumour of oppression and deceit, Of unsuccessful or successful war Might never reach me more...
Page 46 - Happy the man who sees a God employ'd In all the good and ill that chequer life ! Resolving all events, with their effects And manifold results, into the will And arbitration wise of the Supreme. Did not his eye rule all things, and intend The least of our concerns (since from the least The greatest oft originate) ; could chance Find place in his dominion, or dispose One lawless particle to thwart his plan ; Then God might be surprised, and unforeseen Contingence might alarm him, and disturb The...
Page vi - My panting side was charged, when I withdrew To seek a tranquil death in distant shades. There was I found by one who had Himself Been hurt by th
Page 77 - Philosophy baptized In the pure fountain of eternal love Has eyes indeed ; and viewing all she sees As meant to indicate a God to man, Gives Him his praise, and forfeits not her own.
Page 103 - No powder'd pert proficient in the art Of sounding an alarm, assaults these doors Till the street rings ; no stationary steeds Cough their own knell, while, heedless of the sound, The silent circle fan themselves, and quake.
Page 42 - Slaves cannot breathe in England; if their lungs Receive our air, that moment they are free, They touch our country and their shackles fall.
Page 50 - There stands the messenger of truth : there stands The legate of the skies ! — His theme divine, His office sacred, his credentials clear. By him the violated law speaks out Its thunders ; and by him, in strains as sweet As angels use, the Gospel whispers peace.
Page 19 - Nor rural sights alone, but rural sounds Exhilarate the spirit, and restore The tone of languid nature. Mighty winds, That sweep the skirt of some far-spreading wood Of ancient growth, make music not unlike The dash of Ocean on his winding shore...
Page 99 - 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. Houses in ashes, and the fall of stocks,. Births, deaths, and marriages, epistles wet With tears that trickled down the writer's cheeks Fast as the periods from his fluent quill, Or charged with amorous sighs of absent swains, Or nymphs responsive, equally affect His horse and him,...