The Complaint: Or, Night-thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality..A. Millar ... and R. Dodsley, 1750 - 404 pages |
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Page 6
... Fate . Night , fable Goddess ! from her Ebon Throne , In rayless Majefty , now stretches forth Her leaden Sceptre o'er a flumb'ring World . Silence , how dead ! and Darkness , how profound ! Nor Eye , nor lift'ning Ear an Object finds ...
... Fate . Night , fable Goddess ! from her Ebon Throne , In rayless Majefty , now stretches forth Her leaden Sceptre o'er a flumb'ring World . Silence , how dead ! and Darkness , how profound ! Nor Eye , nor lift'ning Ear an Object finds ...
Page 12
... Fate . Each Moment has its Sickle , emulous Of Time's enormous Scythe , whofe ample Sweep Strikes Empires from the Root ; each Moment plays His little Weapon in the narrower Sphere . Of sweet domeftic Comfort , and cuts down The fairest ...
... Fate . Each Moment has its Sickle , emulous Of Time's enormous Scythe , whofe ample Sweep Strikes Empires from the Root ; each Moment plays His little Weapon in the narrower Sphere . Of sweet domeftic Comfort , and cuts down The fairest ...
Page 14
... Fate ; Sweet Comfort's blafted Clufters I lament ; I tremble at the Bleffings once fo dear ; And ev'ry Pleasure pains me to the Heart . Yet why complain ? or why complain for One ? Hangs out the Sun his Luftre but for me , The fingle ...
... Fate ; Sweet Comfort's blafted Clufters I lament ; I tremble at the Bleffings once fo dear ; And ev'ry Pleasure pains me to the Heart . Yet why complain ? or why complain for One ? Hangs out the Sun his Luftre but for me , The fingle ...
Page 16
... Fate , wide opens to devour . What then am I , who forrow for myself ? In Age , in Infancy , from others Aid Is all our Hope ; to teach us to be kind . That , Nature's first , laft Leffon to Mankind The felfifh Heart deferves the Pain ...
... Fate , wide opens to devour . What then am I , who forrow for myself ? In Age , in Infancy , from others Aid Is all our Hope ; to teach us to be kind . That , Nature's first , laft Leffon to Mankind The felfifh Heart deferves the Pain ...
Page 17
... Fate . Is Heaven tremendous in its Frowns ? moft fure ; And in its Favours formidable too ; Its favours here are Tryals , not Rewards ; A call to Duty , not difcharge from Care ; And should alarm us , full as much as Woes ; Awake us to ...
... Fate . Is Heaven tremendous in its Frowns ? moft fure ; And in its Favours formidable too ; Its favours here are Tryals , not Rewards ; A call to Duty , not difcharge from Care ; And should alarm us , full as much as Woes ; Awake us to ...
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Common terms and phrases
Æther againſt Ambition Angels art thou Becauſe beneath Bleffing bleft Blifs Bliſs Bofom boundleſs Breaſt Caufe Cauſe dark Darkneſs Death defcend DEITY diftant divine Doft dreadful Duft Earth endleſs Eternity ev'ry facred fafe Fame Fate feems feen fhall fhines fhould fink firſt Flame fleeps foar foft fome Fool foon Friend ftill ftrange fuch fure Glory Grave Guilt Happineſs Heart Heav'n Himſelf Hope human illuftrious Immortal juft laft lefs Life's loft LORENZO Love Luftre Man's Mankind moft mortal moſt muft muſt Nature Nature's ne'er Night nought Numbers o'er Paffion paft Pain Peace Pleaſure Pow'r Praife Praiſe prefent Pride proud Reafon rife riſe Scene Senfe ſhall Skies Song Soul ſpeak Stars ſtill ſtrike ſtrong thee Thefe Theme Themſelves theſe Thine thofe thoſe Thought thouſand thro Throne Triumph Truth vaft Virtue whofe Wife Wing Wiſdom Wiſh Worfe World wretched
Popular passages
Page 20 - tis madness to defer: Next day the fatal precedent will plead ; Thus on, till wisdom is push'd out of life. Procrastination is the thief of time; Year after year it steals, till all are fled, And to the mercies of a moment leaves The vast concerns of an eternal scene.
Page 7 - The bell strikes one. We take no note of time, But from its loss. To give it then a tongue Is wise in man. As if an angel spoke, I feel the solemn sound. If heard aright, It is the, knell of my departed hours : Where are they? With the years beyond the flood.
Page 10 - This is the bud of being, the dim dawn, The twilight of our day, the vestibule : Life's theatre as yet is shut, and death, Strong death alone, can heave the massy bar, This gross impediment of clay remove, And make us, embryos of existence, free.
Page 20 - Of man's miraculous mistakes this bears The palm, ' That all men are about to live, For ever on the brink of being born.' All pay themselves the compliment to think They one day shall not drivel : and their pride On this reversion takes up ready praise ; At least, their own ; their future selves applaud How excellent that life they ne'er will lead.
Page 73 - Pursuing, and pursued, each other's prey ; As wolves, for rapine; as the fox, for wiles ; Till Death, that mighty hunter, earths them all. Why all this toil for triumphs of an hour ? What though we wade in wealth, or soar in fame ? Earth's highest station ends in " Here he lies :" And dust " to dust
Page 165 - Who lives to nature, rarely can be poor ; Who lives to fancy, never can be rich. Poor is the man in debt ; the man of gold, In debt to fortune, trembles at her power.
Page 91 - ... ?—Thou, my all! My theme, my inspiration, and my crown ! My strength in age ! my rise in low estate ! My soul's ambition, pleasure, wealth !—my world ! My light in darkness! and my life in death ! My boast through time!
Page 40 - Teaching, we learn; and, giving, we retain The births of intellect ; when dumb, forgot Speech ventilates our intellectual fire ; Speech burnishes our mental magazine , Brightens, for ornament ; and whets, for use.
Page 79 - The prisoner of amaze ! — in his blest life I see the path, and in his death the price, And in his great ascent the proof supreme Of immortality.
Page 128 - While man is growing, life is in decrease; And cradles rock us nearer to the tomb. Our birth is nothing but our death begun ; As tapers waste, that instant they take fire.