William Cowper ( 10 of 184 )
Silently as a dream the fabric rose;
No sound of hammer or of saw was there.
Silently as a dream the fabric rose;
No sound of hammer or of saw was there.
Spring hangs her infant blossoms on the trees,
Rock'd in the cradle of the western breeze.
Spring hangs her infant blossoms on the trees,
Rock'd in the cradle of the western breeze.
The only amarantine flower on earth
Is virtue.
The only amarantine flower on earth
Is virtue.
Slaves cannot breathe in England; if their lungs
Receive our air, that moment they are free;
They read more
Slaves cannot breathe in England; if their lungs
Receive our air, that moment they are free;
They touch our country, and their shackles fall.
They best can judge a poet's worth,
Who oft themselves have known
The pangs of a poetic read more
They best can judge a poet's worth,
Who oft themselves have known
The pangs of a poetic birth
By labours of their own.
He would not, with a peremptory tone,
Assert the nose upon his face his own.
He would not, with a peremptory tone,
Assert the nose upon his face his own.
Did Charity prevail, the press would prove
A vehicle of virtue, truth, and love.
Did Charity prevail, the press would prove
A vehicle of virtue, truth, and love.
Glory built on selfish principles, is shame and guilt.
Glory built on selfish principles, is shame and guilt.
He is the freeman whom the truth makes free,
And all are slaves besides.
He is the freeman whom the truth makes free,
And all are slaves besides.
Without one friend, above all foes,
Britannia gives the world repose.
Without one friend, above all foes,
Britannia gives the world repose.
