Ah, yet, e'er I descend to th' grave,
May I a small House and a large Garden have.
read more

Ah, yet, e'er I descend to th' grave,
May I a small House and a large Garden have.
And a few Friends, and many Books both true,
Both wise, and both delightful too.
And since Love ne'er will from me flee,
A mistress moderately fair,
And good as Guardian angels are,
Only belov'd and loving me.

This is the truth as I see it, my dear,
Out in the wind and the rain:
read more

This is the truth as I see it, my dear,
Out in the wind and the rain:
They who have nothing have little to fear,
Nothing to lose or to gain.

That possession was the strongest tenure of the law.

That possession was the strongest tenure of the law.

Cleon hath ten thousand acres,--
Ne'er a one have I;
Cleon dwelleth in a place,--
read more

Cleon hath ten thousand acres,--
Ne'er a one have I;
Cleon dwelleth in a place,--
In a cottage I.

Of a rich man who was mean and niggardly, he said, "That man does
not possess his estate, but read more

Of a rich man who was mean and niggardly, he said, "That man does
not possess his estate, but his estate possesses him."

It may be said of them [the Hollanders], as of the Spaniards,
that the sun never sets upon their read more

It may be said of them [the Hollanders], as of the Spaniards,
that the sun never sets upon their Dominions.

It is said, that the thing you possess is worth more than two you
may have in the future. read more

It is said, that the thing you possess is worth more than two you
may have in the future. The one is sure and the other is not.
[Fr., Un tiens vaut, ce dit-on, mieux que deux tu l'auras.
L'un est sur, l'autre ne l'est pas.]

Providence has given to the French the empire of the land, to the
English that of the sea, to read more

Providence has given to the French the empire of the land, to the
English that of the sea, to the Germans that of--the air!

The English, a spirited nation, claim the empire of the sea; the
French, a calmer nation, claim that of read more

The English, a spirited nation, claim the empire of the sea; the
French, a calmer nation, claim that of the air.
[Fr., Les Anglais, nation trop fiere
S'arrogent l'empire des mers;
Les Francais, nation legere,
S'emparent de celui des airs.]