He calls his wish, it comes; he sends it back,
And says he called another; that arrives,
Meets the same welcome; yet he still calls on;
Till one calls him, who varies not his call,
But holds him fast, in chains of darkness bound,
Till Nature dies, and judgment sets him free;
A freedom far less welcome than this chain.
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A goal without a plan is just a wish.
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
And the evil wish is most evil to the wisher.
And the evil wish is most evil to the wisher.
Some nights the sky wept stars that quickly floated and disappeared into the darkness before our wishes could meet them.
Some nights the sky wept stars that quickly floated and disappeared into the darkness before our wishes could meet them.
You have wished it so, you have wished it so, George Dandin, you
have wished it so.
[Fr., read more
You have wished it so, you have wished it so, George Dandin, you
have wished it so.
[Fr., Vous l'avez voulu, vous l'avez voulu, George Dandin, vous
l'avez voulu.]
What one has wished for in youth, in old age one has in
abundance.
[Ger., Was man in read more
What one has wished for in youth, in old age one has in
abundance.
[Ger., Was man in der Jugend wunscht, hat man im Alter die
Fulle.]
"Man wants but little here below
Nor wants that little long,"
'Tis not with me exactly so;
read more
"Man wants but little here below
Nor wants that little long,"
'Tis not with me exactly so;
But 'tis so in the song.
My wants are many, and, if told,
Would muster many a score;
And were each wish a mint of gold,
I still should long for more.
As you can not do what you wish, you should wish what you can do.
[Lat., Quoniam id fieri read more
As you can not do what you wish, you should wish what you can do.
[Lat., Quoniam id fieri quod vis non potest
Id velis quod possis.]
If I live to grow old, as I find I go down,
Let this be my fate in a read more
If I live to grow old, as I find I go down,
Let this be my fate in a country town;
May I have a warm house, with a stone at my gate,
And a cleanly young girl to rub my bald pate.
May I govern my passions with an absolute sway,
Grow wiser and better as my strength wears away,
Without gout or stone, by a gentle decay.
- Walter Pope, The Old Man's Wish,
What most we wish, with ease we fancy near.
What most we wish, with ease we fancy near.
