“But war's a game, which, were their subjects wise,
Kings would not play at.”
Source: The Task (1785), Book V, The Winter Morning Walk, Line 187.
The opening statement is often paraphrased: God moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform.
No. 35, "Light Shining out of Darkness".
Olney Hymns (1779)
Source: The Task (1785), Book II, The Timepiece, Line 29.
Source: The Task (1785), Book I, The Sofa, Line 181.
“Shine by the side of every path we tread
With such a luster, he that runs may read.”
"Tirocinium", line 79 (1785).
The Retired Cat.
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
Source: The Task (1785), Book VI, Winter Walk at Noon, Line 1.
Source: The Negro's Complaint (1788), Lines 49-52
“God made the country, and man made the town.”
Source: The Task (1785), Book I, The Sofa, Line 749.
No. 35, "Light Shining out of Darkness".
Olney Hymns (1779)
The Iliad of Homer: translated into English blank verse (1791), Preface.
“The innocent seldom find an uncomfortable pillow.”
A misquotation of "The innocent seldom find an uneasy pillow", from James Fenimore Cooper's The Red Rover (1827), ch. 23.
Misattributed
“Some to the fascination of a name
Surrender judgment hoodwink'd.”
The Task, book vi. Winter Walk at Noon, line 101.
The Task (1785), Book VI, Winter Walk at Noon
“A kick that scarce would move a horse
May kill a sound divine.”
The Yearly Distress.
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
“An honest man, close-buttoned to the chin,
Broadcloth without, and a warm heart within.”
"Epistle to Joseph Hill", line 62 (1785).
Source: The Negro's Complaint (1788), Lines 13-16
On Friendship.
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
Source: The Task (1785), Book III, The Garden, Line 352.