A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy #587
Display Title: Weak and irresolute is man First Line: Weak and irresolute is man Date: 1834
A Collection of Hymns and a Liturgy #587
WEAK and irresolute is man:
The purpose of to-day,
Woven with pains into his plan,
To-morrow rends away.
Some foe to his upright intent
Finds out his weaker part:
Virtue engages his assent,
But pleasure wins his heart.
Bound on a voyage of fearful length,
Through dangers little known,
A stranger to superior strength,
Man vainly trusts his own.
But oars alone can ne'er prevail
To reach the distant coast:
The breath of heaven must swell the sail,
Or all the toil is lost.
Source: Hymn and Tune Book for the Church and the Home. (Rev. ed.) #577
William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper"; b. Berkampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1731; d. East Dereham, Norfolk, England, 1800) is regarded as one of the best early Romantic poets. To biographers he is also known as "mad Cowper." His literary talents produced some of the finest English hymn texts, but his chronic depression accounts for the somber tone of many of those texts. Educated to become an attorney, Cowper was called to the bar in 1754 but never practiced law. In 1763 he had the opportunity to become a clerk for the House of Lords, but the dread of the required public examination triggered his tendency to depression, and he attempted suicide. His subsequent hospitalization and friendship with Morley and Mary Unwin provided emotional st… Go to person page >| First Line: | Weak and irresolute is man |
| Author: | William Cowper |
| Copyright: | Public Domain |
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