black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Thus each extreme to equal danger tends, Plenty, as well as Want, can sep’rate friends.

Abraham Cowley

I confess I love littleness almost in all things. A little convenient estate, a little cheerful house, a little company, and a little feast.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Cheerful Company Confess Convenient Estate House Little
God the first garden made, and the first city Cain.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Cain City First Garden God Made
The world’s a scene of changes.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Change Nature Scene World
Come, my best Friends! my Books! and lead me on.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Best Book Come Friend Leading
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.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Delightful Flee From Guardian Moderate Since Wise
His faith, perhaps, in some nice tenets might Be wrong; his life, I’m sure, was in the right.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Life might Nice Perhaps Tenet Wrong
Fill the bowl with rosy wine, around our temples roses twine, And let us cheerfully awhile, like wine and roses, smile.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Cheerful Rose Smile Temple Twine Wine
A mighty pain to love it is, And ’tis a pain that pain to miss; But, of all pains, the greatest pain Is to love, but love in vain.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Fear Kindly Least Life Love May might Pain Treat
I might be master at last of a small house and a large garden, with very moderate conveniences joined to them, and there dedicate the remainder of my life to the culture of them and the study of nature.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Covetousness Desire House Master Moderate Small Strong
Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise, He who defers this work from day to day, Does on a river’s bank expecting stay
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Bank Day Expecting Running Time Wise
To be a husbandman, is but a retreat from the city; to be a philosopher, from the world; or rather, a retreat from the world, as it is man’s, into the world, as it is God’s.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

City Husbandman Man Philosopher Retreat World
Enjoy the present hour, Be thankful for the past, And neither fear nor wish Th’ approaches of the last.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Approach Being Enjoy Last Past Thankful Time
Man is too near all kinds of beasts,–a fawning dog, a roaring lion, a thieving fox, a robbing wolf, a dissembling crocodile, a treacherous decoy, and a rapacious vulture.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Beast Crocodile Dissembling Dog Fawning Man Roaring Robbing Thieving
All this world’s noise appears to me a dull, ill-acted comedy!
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Act Appear Comedy Dull Noise World
When Harvey’s violent passion she did see, Began to tremble and to flee; Took sanctuary, like Daphne, in a tree
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Daphne Flee Harvey Passion Sanctuary Tree Tremble Violent
Life for delays and doubts no time does give, None ever yet made haste enough to live.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Doubt. Time Enough Giving Life

Thus each extreme to equal danger tends, Plenty, as well as Want, can sep’rate friends.

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Thus each extreme to equal danger tends, Plenty, as well as Want, can sep’rate friends.

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Popular Authors

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