James Thomson Quotes

Their only labour was to kill the time;
And labour dire it is, and weary woe,
They sit, they loll, turn o'er some idle rhyme,
Then, rising sudden, to the glass they go,
Or saunter forth, with tottering steps and slow.

Shade, unperceiv'd, so softening into shade.

Plac'd far amid the melancholy main.

Come, gentle Spring! ethereal mildness, come.

Come then, expressive silence, muse His praise.

A pleasing land of drowsyhed it was,
Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye;
And of gay castles in the clouds that pass,
Forever flushing round a summer sky:
There eke the soft delights that witchingly
Instil a wanton sweetness through the breast,
And the calm pleasures always hover'd nigh;
But whate'er smack'd of noyance or unrest
Was far, far off expell'd from this delicious nest.

The meek-ey'd Morn appears, mother of dews.

Ships dim-discovered dropping from the clouds.

O Sophonisba! Sophonisba, O!

Base Envy withers at another’s joy,
And hates that excellence it cannot reach.

Whoe'er amidst the sons
Of reason, valour, liberty, and virtue
Displays distinguish'd merit, is a noble
Of Nature's own creating.

Forever, Fortune, wilt thou prove
An unrelenting foe to love,
And, when we meet a mutual heart,
Come in between and bid us part?

Cruel as death, and hungry as the grave.

When Britain first, at Heaven's command,
Arose from out the azure main,
This was the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sung this strain:
'Rule, Britannia, rule the waves;
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.'

Ah! what avail the largest gifts of Heaven, When drooping health and spirits go amiss?
How tasteless then whatever can be given! Health is the vital principle of bliss,
And exercise, of health.