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Beauty, thou wild fantastic ape Who dost in every country change thy shape!

Abraham Cowley

I would not fear nor wish my fate, but boldly say each night, to-morrow let my sun his beams display, or in clouds hide them; I have lived today.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Cloud Display Fate Fear Morrow Night Wish
Happy insect! what can be In happiness compared to thee? Fed with nourishment divine, The dewy morning’s gentle wine!
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Compared Gentle Happiness Happy Insect Morning Self Wine
What a brave privilege is it to be free from all contentions, from all envying or being envied, from receiving or paying all kinds of ceremonies!
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Brave Envied Fee Paying Receiving Solitude
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
The present is all the ready money Fate can give.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Fate Giving Money Present Ready
Why dost thou heap up wealth, which thou must quit, Or what is worse, be left by it? Why dost thou load thyself when thou ‘rt to fly, Oh, man! ordain’d to die?
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Art Dost Heap Left Lying Man Wealth Worse
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
It is a hard and nice subject for a man to speak of himself: it grates his own heart to say anything of disparagement, and the reader’s ear to hear anything of praise from him.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Disparagement Hard Heart Man Nice Speak Subject
Poets by Death are conquer’d but the wit Of poets triumphs over it.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Conquer Death Over Poet Triumph
It was not sleep that made him nod, he said, But too great weight and largeness of his head.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Head Largeness Made Sleep Wight
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
This a scene of changes, and to be constant in Nature were inconstancy.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Change Constant Nature Scene
Life for delays and doubts no time does give, None ever yet made haste enough to live.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Doubt. Time Enough Giving Life
In fields d’or or d’argent; but, if heraldry were guided by reason, a plough in a field arable would be the most noble and ancient arms.”
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Ancient Field Guided Heraldry Noble Plough Reason
This only grant me, that my means may lie, too low for envy, for contempt to high.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Contempt Envy Grant High Lying Mean
Books should, not Business, entertain the Light; And Sleep, as undisturb’d as Death, the Night.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Book Business Death Entertain Light Night Sleep
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
Neither the praise nor the blame is our own.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Appreciation Blame Own Praise
Vain, weak-built isthmus, which dost proudly rise Up between two eternities!
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Build Eternity Isthmus Life Proudly Two
Does not the passage of Moses and the Israelites into the Holy Land yield incomparably more poetic variety than the voyages of Ulysses or Aeneas?
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Aenea Bible Holy Incomparably More Mose Passage Poetic Yield
Plenty, as well as Want, can separate friends.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Friend Plenty Separate Want Well
Thus would I double my life’s fading space;For he that runs it well, runs twice his race.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Fading Race Running Space Twice
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
Beauty, thou wild fantastic ape Who dost in every country change thy shape!
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Ape Beauty Country Fantastic Shape Shapes Wild
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
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
Acquaintance I would have, but when it depends; not on number, but the choice of friends.
ABRAHAM COWLEY

Acquaintance Choice Depend Friendship Number

Beauty, thou wild fantastic ape Who dost in every country change thy shape!

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Beauty, thou wild fantastic ape Who dost in every country change thy shape!

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