Edmund Waller
Edmund Waller
Edmund Waller, FRSwas an English poet and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1624 and 1679. He was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge. He entered Parliament early and was at first an active member of the opposition. In 1631 he married a London heiress who died in 1634. Later he became a Royalist, and in 1643 was leader in a plot to seize London for Charles I. For this he was imprisoned,...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth3 March 1606
life believe love-is
To love is to believe, to hope, to know; 'Tis an essay, a taste of Heaven below!
life heart dark
Consent in virtue knit your hearts so fast, That still the knot, in spite of death, does last; For as your tears, and sorrow-wounded soul, Prove well that on your part this bond is whole, So all we know of what they do above, Is that they happy are, and that they love. Let dark oblivion, and the hollow grave, Content themselves our frailer thoughts to have; Well-chosen love is never taught to die, But with our nobler part invades the sky.
life angel disputes
Could we forbear dispute, and practise love, We should agree as angels do above.
time dark light
The soul's dark cottage, batter'd and decay'd, Lets in new light through chinks that Time has made.
sweet time rose
Go, lovely rose, Tell her that wastes her time and me, That now she knows, When I resemble her to thee, How sweet and fair she seems to be.
stars men light
To man, that was in th' evening made, Stars gave the first delight; Admiring, in the gloomy shade, Those little drops of light.
latin greek poet
Poets that lasting marble seek Must come in Latin or in Greek.
ocean may use
Others may use the ocean as their road; Only the English make it their abode.
giving sun compass
A narrow compass! and yet there Dwelt all that 's good, and all that 's fair; Give me but what this riband bound, Take all the rest the sun goes round.
yoke language flanders
Under the tropic is our language spoke, And part of Flanders hath receiv'd our yoke.
humble arrows levels
Thrice happy is that humble pair, Beneath the level of all care! Over whose heads those arrows fly, Of sad distrust and jealousy.
passion wind sea
The seas are quiet when the winds give o'er; So calm are we when passions are no more!
fate eagles made
That eagle's fate and mine are one, Which, on the shaft that made him die, Espied a feather of his own, Wherewith he wont to soar so high.
soul zealous too-much
The fear of Hell, or aiming to be blest, Savors too much of private interest. This moved not Moses, nor the zealous Paul, Who for their friends abandoned soul and all.