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
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.
soul palaces
And keeps the palace of the soul.
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.
our-world thrones fabric
The chain that's fixed to the throne of Jove, On which the fabric of our world depends, One link dissolved, the whole creation ends.
wise fall practice
He that alone would wise and mighty be,Commands that others love as well as he.Love as he lov'd! - How can we soar so high?-He can add wings when he commands to fly.Nor should we be with this command dismay'd;He that examples gives will give his aid:For he took flesh, that where his precepts fall,His practice, as a pattern, may prevail.
rain sailor shepherds
Vexed sailors cursed the rain, for which poor shepherds prayed in vain.
muse rapture conqueror
Illustrious acts high raptures do infuse, And every conqueror creates a muse.
soul tea vapour
Tea does our fancy aid, Repress those vapours which the head invade And keeps that palace of the soul serene.
lying humble nests
The lark that shuns on lofty boughs to build, Her humble nest, lies silent in the field.