Date: 1786

One may steal "The gem of truth from his unguarded soul"

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)

Date: 1786

"The stamp of artless piety impress'd / By kind tuition on his yielding breast"

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)

Date: 1786

Vile example may be stamped on the breast

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)

Date: 1786

"Dismiss their cares when they dismiss their flock, / Machines themselves, and govern'd by a clock."

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)

Date: 1788

"Strong Genius, from whose forge of thought / Forms rise, to quick perfection wrought"

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)

Date: 1788

"Well-tutor'd Learning, from his books / Dismiss'd with grave, not haughty looks, / Their order on his shelves exact, / Not more harmonious or compact / Than that, to which he keeps confined / The various treasures of his mind."

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)

Date: June, 1788

"Minds are never to be sold"

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)

Date: June, 1788

"Think, ye masters, iron-hearted, / Lolling at your jovial boards, / Think how many backs have smarted / For the sweets your cane affords."

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)

Date: 1789

Books are "Food chiefly for the mind"

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)

Date: 1791

The mind may be oppress'd with "weight of care"

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)