If my resolution to be a great man was half so strong as it is to despise the shame of being a little one… – William Cowper
The dogs did bark, the children screamed, Up flew the windows all; And every soul bawled out, Well done! As loud as he could bawl. – William Cowper
How much a dunce that has been sent to roam, excels a dunce that has been kept at home. – William Cowper
Absence from whom we love is worse than death, and frustrates hope severer than despair. – William Cowper
God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm. – William Cowper
O solitude, where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face? Better dwell in the midst of alarms, Than reign in this horrible place. – William Cowper
Reasoning at every step he treads, Man yet mistakes his way, Whilst meaner things, whom instinct leads, Are rarely known to stray. – William Cowper
Where men of judgment creep and feel their way, The positive pronounce without dismay. – William Cowper
Ceremony leads her bigots forth, prepared to fight for shadows of no worth. While truths, on which eternal things depend, can hardly find a single friend. – William Cowper
The earth was made so various, that the mind Of desultory man, studious of change, And pleased with novelty, might be indulged. – William Cowper
Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little; we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose. – William Cowper
