William Shenstone
William Shenstone
William Shenstonewas an English poet and one of the earliest practitioners of landscape gardening through the development of his estate, The Leasowes...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth18 November 1714
essence bears virtue
Virtues, like essences, lose their fragrance when exposed. They are sensitive plants, which will not bear too familiar approaches.
birth claims gives politeness source surest
Of all that gives politeness birth,Of all that claims to please,In motion, manners, or in mirth,The surest source is ease.
envy fear jealousy
Jealousy is the fear or apprehension of superiority: envy our uneasiness under it
compliment indirect deference
Deference is the most complicate, the most indirect, and the most elegant of all compliments.
envious fame sloth towers views
Sloth views the towers of Fame with envious eyes, Desirous still, still impotent to rise.
decency driven far meet
Her cap, far whiter than the driven snow, Emblems right meet of decency does yield.
found gift
I have found out a gift for my fair;I have found where the wood-pigeons breed.
envious eyes fame sloth towers views
Sloth views the towers of Fame with envious eyes,Desirous still, still impotent to rise.
reads thy verses
Thy verses are eternal, O my friend, For he who reads them, reads them to no end
wine understanding church
Reserve is no more essentially connected with understanding than a church organ with devotion, or wine with good-nature.
liars lying ends
A liar begins with making falsehood appear like truth, and ends with making truth itself appear like falsehood.
good-man use coins
Learning, like money, may be of so base a coin as to be utterly void of use; or, if sterling, may require good management to make it serve the purposes of sense or happiness.
wine power white
The weak and insipid white wine makes at length excellent vinegar.
essence virtue fragrance
Virtues, like essences, lose their fragrance when exposed.