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Books should, not Business, entertain the Light; And Sleep, as undisturb’d as Death, the Night.

Abraham Cowley

Ah! Wretched and too solitary he who loves not his own company.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Company Life Solitary Wretched
Of all ills that one endures, hope is a cheap and universal cure.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Cheap Cure Endure Healing Hope Universal
Nothing so soon the drooping spirits can raise As praises from the men, whom all men praise.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Drooping Encouragement Hard Praise Spirit Work
And I myself a Catholic will be, So far at least, great saint, to pray to thee. Hail, Bard triumphant! and some care bestow On us, the Poets militant below.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Best Care Catholic Great Now Religion Saint Triumphant
Gold begets in brethren hate; Gold in families debate; Gold does friendship separate; Gold does civil wars create.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Beget Brethren Debate Family Gold Hate War
To-day is ours; what do we fear? To-day is ours; we have it here. Let’s treat it kindly, that it may Wish, at least, with us to stay.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Least May Our Sorrow Treat Wish
The getting out of doors is the greatest part of the journey.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Door Getting Greatest Journey Part
The motions strait, and round, and swift, and slow, And short and long, were mixt and woven so, Did in such artful Figures smoothly fall, As made this decent measur’d dance of all. And this is Musick.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Artful Figure Mixt Motion Slow Strait Swift Woven
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
When Israel was from bondage led,Led by the Almighty’s handFrom out of foreign land,The great sea beheld and fled.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Almighty Bondage Country God Great Land Sea
Stones of small worth may lie unseen by day, But night itself does the rich gem betray.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Betray Gem Jewel Lying Night Stone Unseen
What shall I do to be for ever known, And make the age to come my own?
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Age Come Known Own Reputation
Hope is the most hopeless thing of all.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Believe Hope Hopeless Thing
But what is woman? Only one of nature’s agreeable blunders.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Agree Blunder Nature Woman
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
Till the whole stream, which stopped him, should be gone, That runs, and as it runs, for ever will run on.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Ever Gone Run Stream Whole Will
Let’s banish business, banish sorrow; To the gods belong to-morrow.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Banish Belong Business God Morrow Sorrow
Thus each extreme to equal danger tends, Plenty, as well as Want, can sep’rate friends.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Danger Equal Extreme Friend Want
“We may talk what we please,” he cries in his enthusiasm for the oldest of the arts, “of lilies, and lions rampant, and spread eagles
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Art Eagle Enthusiasm Garden Lion Oldest Please Talk
The liberty of a private man, in being master of his own time and actions, as far as may consist with the laws of God and of his country.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Action God Governed Law Life Made Man Own Private 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
Plenty, as well as Want, can separate friends.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Friend Plenty Separate Want Well
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
Build yourself a book-nest to forget the world without.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Book Build Forget Nest World
There Daphne’s Lover stopped, and thought it much The very leaves of her to touch: But Harvey, our Apollo, stopp’d not so; Into the Bark and Root he after her did go!
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Apollo Daphne Harvey Leave Lover Stop Stopped Touch
Nothing is there to come, and nothing past, But an eternal Now does always last.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Come Doe Eternal Last Past Time
Solitude can be used well by very few people. They who do must have a knowledge of the world to see the foolishness of it, and enough virtue to despise all the vanity.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Few Foolishness People Solitude Vanity

Books should, not Business, entertain the Light; And Sleep, as undisturb’d as Death, the Night.

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Books should, not Business, entertain the Light; And Sleep, as undisturb’d as Death, the Night.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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