quote · Legacy record
O, I have seen, (nor hope perhaps in vain, Ere life go down, to see such sights again,) A veteran warrior in the Christian field, Who never saw the sword he could not wield; Grave without dulness, learned without pride, Exact, yet not precise, though meek, keen-eyed; A man that would have foiled, at their own play, A dozen would-be’s of the modern day; Who, when occasion justified its use, Had wit as bright, as ready to produce; Could fetch the records of an earlier age, Or from philosophy’s enlightened page His rich materials, and regale your ear With strains it was a privilege to hear: Yet, above all, his luxury supreme, And his chief glory was the gospel theme; There he was copious as old Greece or Rome, His happy eloquence seemed there at home,— Ambitious not to shine, or to excel, But, to treat justly what he loved so well.
O, I have seen, (nor hope perhaps in vain, Ere life go down, to see such sights again,) A veteran warrior in the Christian field, Who never saw the sword he could not wield; Grave without dulness, learned without pride, Exact, yet not precise, though meek, keen-eyed; A man that would have foiled, at their own play, A dozen would-be’s of the modern day; Who, when occasion justified its use, Had wit as bright, as ready to produce; Could fetch the records of an earlier age, Or from philosophy’s enlightened page His rich materials, and regale your ear With strains it was a privilege to hear: Yet, above all, his luxury supreme, And his chief glory was the gospel theme; There he was copious as old Greece or Rome, His happy eloquence seemed there at home,— Ambitious not to shine, or to excel, But, to treat justly what he loved so well.
Approximate author period: c. 1765 AD · early modern
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- William Cowper
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1765 AD · early modern
author lifetime midpoint (1731–1800)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 259 · printed citation: Cowper · subject: GOSPEL
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