Quote

As creeping ivy clings to wood or stone, And hides the ruin that it feeds upon, So sophistry, cleaves close to, and protects Sin's rotten trunk, concealing its defects.

William Cowper

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

William Cowper
Age: 68 †
Born: 1731
Born: November 26
Died: 1800
Died: April 25
Hymnwriter
Poet
Poet Lawyer
Translator
Writer
Berkhamsted
Hertfordshire
Stone
Protects
Cleaves
Woods
Hides
Sophistry
Stones
Feeds
Creeping
Sin
Rotten
Clings
Close
Defects
Ivy
Protect
Wood
Trunk
Upon
Ruin
Concealing
Ruins
Trunks

More quotes by William Cowper

Image
Lord, it is my chief complaint, That my love is weak and faint Yet I love thee and adore, Oh for grace to love thee more!
William Cowper
Image
It chills my blood to hear the blest Supreme Rudely appealed to on each trifling theme.
William Cowper
Image
If a great man struggling with misfortunes is a noble object, a little man that despises them is no contemptible one.
William Cowper
Image
Poor England! thou art a devoted deer, Beset with every ill but that of fear. The nations hunt all mock thee for a prey They swarm around thee, and thou stand'st at bay.
William Cowper
Image
Accomplishments have taken virtue's place, and wisdom falls before exterior grace.
William Cowper
Image
When nations are to perish in their sins, 'tis in the Church the leprosy begins.
William Cowper
Image
I would not enter on my list of friends (Though graced with polished manners and fine sense, Yet wanting sensibility) the man Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.
William Cowper
Image
Great offices will have great talents.
William Cowper
Image
The bird that flutters least is longest on the wing.
William Cowper
Image
Is base in kind, and born to be a slave.
William Cowper
Image
Made poetry a mere mechanic art.
William Cowper
Image
I would not have a slave to till my ground, To carry me, to fan me while I sleep, And tremble when I wake, for all the wealth That sinews bought and sold have ever earn'd.
William Cowper
Image
Acquaint thyself with God, if thou would'st taste His works. Admitted once to his embrace, Thou shalt perceive that thou was blind before: Thine eye shall be instructed and thine heart Made pure shall relish with divine delight Till then unfelt, what hands divine have wrought.
William Cowper
Image
Words learn'd by rote a parrot may rehearse, But talking is not always to converse, Not more distinct from harmony divine The constant creaking of a country sign.
William Cowper
Image
Pernicious weed! whose scent the fair annoys, Unfriendly to society's chief joys: Thy worst effect is banishing for hours The sex whose presence civilizes ours.
William Cowper
Image
The only amaranthine flower on earth is virtue the only lasting treasure, truth.
William Cowper
Image
No man can be a patriot on an empty stomach.
William Cowper
Image
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hourThe bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flow’r. Blind unbelief is sure to err And scan His work in vain God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain.
William Cowper
Image
Riches have wings, and grandeur is a dream.
William Cowper
Image
The earth was made so various, that the mind Of desultory man, studious of change, And pleased with novelty, might be indulged.
William Cowper