The Task: In Six Books |
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Page 11
But relaxation of the languid frame , By soft recumbency of outstretch'd limbs ,
Was bliss reserv'd for happier days . So slow The growth of what is excellent ; so
hard To attain perfection in this nether world . Thus first Necessity invented stools
...
But relaxation of the languid frame , By soft recumbency of outstretch'd limbs ,
Was bliss reserv'd for happier days . So slow The growth of what is excellent ; so
hard To attain perfection in this nether world . Thus first Necessity invented stools
...
Page 14
Thence , with what pleasure we just discern'd The distant plough slow moving ,
and beside His lab'ring team , that swerv'd not from the track , The sturdy swain
diminish'd to a boy ! Here Ouse , slow winding through a level plain Of spacious ...
Thence , with what pleasure we just discern'd The distant plough slow moving ,
and beside His lab'ring team , that swerv'd not from the track , The sturdy swain
diminish'd to a boy ! Here Ouse , slow winding through a level plain Of spacious ...
Page 19
And now , with nerves new brac'd and spirits cheer'd , We tread the wilderness ,
whose well - roll'd walks With curvature of slow and easy sweepDeception
innocent - give ample space To narrow bounds . The grove receives us next ;
Between ...
And now , with nerves new brac'd and spirits cheer'd , We tread the wilderness ,
whose well - roll'd walks With curvature of slow and easy sweepDeception
innocent - give ample space To narrow bounds . The grove receives us next ;
Between ...
Page 25
Kate is craz'd I see a column of slow rising smoke O'ertop the lofty wood , that
skirts the wild . A vagabond nd useless tribe there eat Their miserable meal . A
kettle , slung Between two poles upon a stick transverse , Receives the morsel -
flesh ...
Kate is craz'd I see a column of slow rising smoke O'ertop the lofty wood , that
skirts the wild . A vagabond nd useless tribe there eat Their miserable meal . A
kettle , slung Between two poles upon a stick transverse , Receives the morsel -
flesh ...
Page 26
Blest he , though undistinguish'd from the crowd By wealth or dignity , who dwells
secure , Where man by nature fierce has laid aside His fierceness , having learnt
, though slow to learn The manners and the arts of civil life . His wants indeed ...
Blest he , though undistinguish'd from the crowd By wealth or dignity , who dwells
secure , Where man by nature fierce has laid aside His fierceness , having learnt
, though slow to learn The manners and the arts of civil life . His wants indeed ...
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Common terms and phrases
beauty beneath BOOK bounds breath cause charms cities clear close course death deep delight distant divine dream e'en earth ease effect ev'ry fair fall fancy fear feeds feel field flow'r force fruit gives glory grace green half hand happy head heart Heav'n holds hope hour human king land least leaves length less light live lost manners means mind nature never o'er once peace perhaps pleasures pow'r praise proud publick rest rise rural sake scene seek seems seen shine side sleep slow smiles song soon soul sound stands stream sweet task taste thee theme thine things thou thought thousand true truth turn vain virtue walk wind winter wisdom worth worthy
Popular passages
Page 161 - 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 41 - 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 155 - 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 43 - 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 32 - 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 42 - 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 161 - 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 32 - 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 32 - 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 31 - 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.
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Task: In Six Books |
| Author | William Cowper |
| Publisher | J. & B. Williams, 1836 |
| Original from | the New York Public Library |
| Digitized | 28 Nov 2006 |
| Length | 172 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |