"It is a general rule of Judgment, that a mischief should rather be admitted than an inconvenience."

William Cowper Literature See all quotes by William Cowper →

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More by William Cowper

“Remorse, the fatal egg by Pleasure laid.”

“All learned, and all drunk!”

“There is no instance where men are so easily imposed upon, as at the time of their dying under the pretence of charity.”

“I will venture to assert, that a just translation of any ancient poet in rhyme is impossible. No human ingenuity can be equal to the task of closing every couplet with sounds homotonous, expressing at the same time the full sense, and only the full sense of his original.”

“Riches have wings, and grandeur is a dream.”

“The son of parents pass'd into the skies.”

Resonant Thoughts

"If you look at early shamanic texts and cultures, the magical powers that the shaman hopes the gods might give him, flying, turning into animals, invisibility, poetry – as if poetry was a magic power.…"

— Alan Moore

Literature1953

#power

"To control global warming, only one solution: stop burning fossil fuels."

— Jacques Dubochet

Ethics1942

#power

"Absolute dominion of a powerful people by a minority always produces national aggression."

— Philip Wylie

Science1902–1971

#power

"I cannot understand your nature. If my nature had been made to suit your comprehension rather than my own requirements, I am afraid I would have made a very poor figure in the world."

— Oscar Wilde

Literature1854–1900

#knowledge