The task, a poem, illustr. by B. Foster1855 |
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Page 6
... And in the midst an elbow it received , United yet divided , twain at once . So sit two kings of Brentford on one throne ; And so two citizens , who take the air , Close pack'd , and smiling , in a chaise and 6 THE TASK .
... And in the midst an elbow it received , United yet divided , twain at once . So sit two kings of Brentford on one throne ; And so two citizens , who take the air , Close pack'd , and smiling , in a chaise and 6 THE TASK .
Page 12
... once . Nor less composure waits upon the roar Of distant floods , or on the softer voice Of neighbouring fountain , or of rills that slip Through the cleft rock , and , chiming as they fall Upon loose pebbles , lose themselves at length ...
... once . Nor less composure waits upon the roar Of distant floods , or on the softer voice Of neighbouring fountain , or of rills that slip Through the cleft rock , and , chiming as they fall Upon loose pebbles , lose themselves at length ...
Page 14
... Once went I forth ; and found , till then unknown , A cottage , whither oft we since repair : ' Tis perch'd upon the green hill - top , but close Environ'd with a ring of branching elms , That overhang the thatch , itself unseen Peeps ...
... Once went I forth ; and found , till then unknown , A cottage , whither oft we since repair : ' Tis perch'd upon the green hill - top , but close Environ'd with a ring of branching elms , That overhang the thatch , itself unseen Peeps ...
Page 22
... eye Commits no wrong , nor wastes what it enjoys . Refreshing change ! where now the blazing sun ? By short transition we have lost his glare , See the foregoing note . And stepp'd at once into a cooler clime . Ye 22 THE TASK .
... eye Commits no wrong , nor wastes what it enjoys . Refreshing change ! where now the blazing sun ? By short transition we have lost his glare , See the foregoing note . And stepp'd at once into a cooler clime . Ye 22 THE TASK .
Page 23
... once more I mourn Your fate unmerited , once more rejoice That yet a remnant of your race survives . How airy and how light the graceful arch , Yet awful as the consecrated roof Re - echoing pious anthems ! while beneath The chequer'd ...
... once more I mourn Your fate unmerited , once more rejoice That yet a remnant of your race survives . How airy and how light the graceful arch , Yet awful as the consecrated roof Re - echoing pious anthems ! while beneath The chequer'd ...
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Common terms and phrases
abroad beauty beneath boast breath call'd cause charms cheerful clime clouds death delight distant divine dream e'en earth ease EDMUND EVANS elms fair fancy fast fear feed feel field of glory flower folly form'd fountain of eternal frown fruit gives glebe glory golden harvest grace green groves hand happy hast heart heaven honour human JAMES NISBET king kingcups labour less liberty LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS live lost lyre Mighty winds mind nature Nature's Nebaioth never o'er once peace pleasure praise press'd proud quake rapture riddance rude rural sake scene seek shade shine Sicily skies sleep sloth smiles smooth Sofa soft song soon sound spare sublime sweet task taste thee theme thine thou art toil touch'd trembling truth Twas vale VIGNETTE TITLE virtue walk weary WILLIAM COWPER wind Winter wisdom wonder worthy
Popular passages
Page 194 - He looks abroad into the varied field Of nature, and, though poor perhaps, compared With those whose mansions glitter in his sight, Calls the delightful scenery all his own. His are the mountains, and the valleys his, And the resplendent rivers. His to enjoy With a propriety that none can feel, But who, with filial confidence inspired, Can lift to heaven an unpresumptuous eye, And smiling say — " My Father made them all 1
Page 37 - OH for a lodge in some vast wilderness, Some boundless contiguity of shade, Where rumor of oppression and deceit, Of unsuccessful or successful war, Might never reach me more...
Page 124 - Cataracts of declamation thunder here ; There forests of no meaning spread the page, In which all comprehension wanders lost ; While fields of pleasantry amuse us there With merry descants on a nation's woes. The rest appears a wilderness of strange But gay confusion ; roses for the cheeks, And lilies for the brows of faded age, Teeth for the toothless, ringlets for the bald...
Page 58 - I would express him simple, grave, sincere ; In doctrine uncorrupt ; in language plain ; And plain in manner. Decent, solemn, chaste, And natural in gesture. Much impressed Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds May feel it too. Affectionate in look, And tender in address, as well becomes A messenger of grace to guilty men.
Page 3 - Stand, never overlooked, our favourite elms, That screen the herdsman's solitary hut; While far beyond, and overthwart the stream, That, as with molten glass, inlays the vale, The sloping land recedes into the clouds; Displaying on its...
Page 230 - I would not enter on my list of friends (Though graced with polished manners and fine sense Yet wanting sensibility) the man Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm. An inadvertent step may crush the snail That crawls at evening in the public path, But he that has humanity, forewarned, Will tread aside, and let the reptile live.
Page 237 - Whose fire was kindled at the prophets' lamp, The time of rest, the promised sabbath, comes. Six thousand years of sorrow have well nigh Fulfilled their tardy and disastrous course Over a sinful world; and what remains Of this tempestuous state of human things, Is merely as the working of a sea Before a calm, that rocks itself to rest...
Page 201 - Thou art the source and centre of all minds, Their only point of rest, eternal Word ! From thee departing they are lost, and rove At random without honour, hope, or peace. From thee is all that soothes the life of man, His high endeavour, and his glad success, His strength to suffer, and his will to serve.
Page 179 - Ye horrid towers, the abode of broken hearts ; Ye dungeons, and ye cages of despair, That monarchs have supplied from age to age With music, such as suits their sovereign ears; The sighs and groans of miserable men ! There's not an English heart, that would not leap To hear that ye were fallen at last ; to know That even our enemies, so oft employed In forging chains for us, themselves were free. For he who values liberty, confines His zeal for her predominance within No narrow bounds ; her cause...
Page 126 - Than those of age, thy forehead wrapped in clouds, A leafless branch thy sceptre, and thy throne A sliding car, indebted to no wheels, But urged by storms along its slippery way, 1 love thee, all unlovely as thou seem'st, And dreaded as thou art!