The Task: In Six Books |
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Page 10
... ease ; The slipp'ry seat betray'd the sliding part That press'd it , and the feet hung dangling down , Anxious in vain to find the distant floor . These for the rich ; the rest , whom Fate had plac'd In modost mediocrity , content With ...
... ease ; The slipp'ry seat betray'd the sliding part That press'd it , and the feet hung dangling down , Anxious in vain to find the distant floor . These for the rich ; the rest , whom Fate had plac'd In modost mediocrity , content With ...
Page 11
... ease . But rude at first , and not with easy slope Receding wide , they press'd against the ribs , And bruis'd the side ; and , elevated high , Taught the rais'd shoulders to invade the ears . Long time elaps'd or e'er our rugged sires ...
... ease . But rude at first , and not with easy slope Receding wide , they press'd against the ribs , And bruis'd the side ; and , elevated high , Taught the rais'd shoulders to invade the ears . Long time elaps'd or e'er our rugged sires ...
Page 13
... ease , or leaps the fence ; That play of lungs , inhaling and again Respiring freely the fresh air , that makes Swift pace or steep ascent no toil to me , Mine have not pilfer'd yet ; nor yet impair'd My relish of fair prospect ; scenes ...
... ease , or leaps the fence ; That play of lungs , inhaling and again Respiring freely the fresh air , that makes Swift pace or steep ascent no toil to me , Mine have not pilfer'd yet ; nor yet impair'd My relish of fair prospect ; scenes ...
Page 20
... ease . The sedentary stretch their lazy length When Custom bids , but no refreshment find , For none they need : the languid eye , the cheek Deserted of its bloom , the flaccid , shrunk , And wither'd muscle , and the vapid soul ...
... ease . The sedentary stretch their lazy length When Custom bids , but no refreshment find , For none they need : the languid eye , the cheek Deserted of its bloom , the flaccid , shrunk , And wither'd muscle , and the vapid soul ...
Page 21
... Ease , when courted most , Furthest retires - an idol , at whose shrine Who oft'nest sacrifice are favour'd least . The love of Nature , and the scenes she draws , s nature's dictate . Strange ! there should be found , Who , self ...
... Ease , when courted most , Furthest retires - an idol , at whose shrine Who oft'nest sacrifice are favour'd least . The love of Nature , and the scenes she draws , s nature's dictate . Strange ! there should be found , Who , self ...
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Common terms and phrases
abroad beauty beneath boast breath call'd cause charms clime death Deciduous delight distant divine domestick dream e'en earth ease ev'ning ev'ry fair fancy favour'd fear feeds feel field of glory flow'r folly form'd fountain of eternal frown fruit gives glory grace grave groves hand happy heart Heav'n honour hopes and fears Hosanna human king labour learn'd less liberty lost lov'd lyre magick mercy Mighty winds mind musick nature Nature's Nebaioth never nymphs o'er once peace perhaps pleas'd pleasures polish'd pow'r praise proud publick rapture riddance rude rural sacred sake scene seek seem'd shade shine sighs silent sleep sloth smiles SOFA soft song soon soul sound spleen stream sweet sycophant task taste thee theme thine thou art toil touch'd tow'r trembling truth Twas vale virtue walk wand'ring weary wind winter wisdom worthy
Popular passages
Page 165 - One song employs all nations ; and all cry, " Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us ! " The dwellers in the vales and on the rocks Shout to each other, and the mountain tops From distant mountains catch the flying joy ; Till, nation after nation taught the strain, Earth rolls the rapturous Hosanna round.
Page 45 - Support and ornament of Virtue's cause. There stands the messenger of truth: there stands The legate of the skies! — His theme divine, His office sacred, his credentials clear. By him the violated law speaks out Its thunders ; and by him, in strains as sweet As angels use, the gospel whispers peace.
Page 159 - 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.
Page 47 - A messenger of grace to guilty men. Behold the picture ! — Is it like ? — Like whom ? The things that mount the rostrum with a skip, And then skip down again ; pronounce a text ; Cry — hem ! and reading what they never wrote, Just fifteen minutes, huddle up their work, And with a well-bred whisper close the scene...
Page 36 - I would not have a slave to till my ground, To carry me, to fan me while I sleep, And tremble when I wake, for all the wealth That sinews bought and sold have ever earn'd.
Page 46 - 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 165 - The garden fears no blight, and needs no fence, For there is none to covet; all are full. The lion, and the libbard, and the bear, Graze with the fearless flocks; all bask at noon Together, or all gambol in the shade Of the same grove, and drink one common stream ; Antipathies are none.
Page 36 - Slaves cannot breathe in England ; if their lungs Receive our air, that moment they are free ; They touch our country, and their shackles fall. That's noble, and bespeaks a nation proud And jealous of the blessing. Spread it then, And let it circulate through every vein Of all your empire ; that, where Britain's power Is felt, mankind may feel her mercy too.
Page 36 - We have no slaves at home — then why abroad ? And they themselves once ferried o'er the wave That parts us, are emancipate and loosed. Slaves cannot breathe in England ; if their lungs Receive our air, that moment they are free; They touch our country, and their shackles fall.
Page 35 - There is no flesh in man's obdurate heart, It does not feel for man ; the natural bond Of brotherhood is sever'd as the flax That falls asunder at the touch of fire.