Remarks by Abraham Cowley | V2Melody Quotations

“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter in life's storms.”

Highlighting the protective comfort of loyal companionship · Letter / prose note on friendship

“True wisdom begins with admitting the vastness of our ignorance.”

Framing genuine insight around intellectual humility · Prose essay, Of Learning

“Patience softens the harshness of inevitable burdens.”

Reminding that endurance eases life's unavoidable difficulties · Essay, Of Adversity

“Silence is often the most eloquent response to folly.”

Suggesting restraint and quiet dignity when confronted with foolishness · Prose essay, Of Conversation

“He who buys what he does not need steals from himself.”

Warning against frivolous spending and material indulgence · Essay, Of Avarice

“A garden is a silent mentor, teaching patience through the seasons.”

Finding quiet life lessons in the slow rhythms of natural growth · Essay, Of Agriculture

“True greatness lies not in dominating others, but in mastering oneself.”

Redefining power as internal self-discipline rather than external control · Essay, Of Greatness

“Laughter is the cheap medicine of the soul.”

Celebrating the restorative benefit of humor in everyday struggles · Prose note on humor and health

“The best revenge is not to be like him who did the injury.”

Urging moral high ground and self-restraint over spiteful retaliation · Prose reflections on morality

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”

Observing the immense power of internal perception over external reality · Prose commentary on the human spirit

“True wit is nature to advantage dressed, what oft was thought, but ne'er so well expressed.”

Defining literary brilliance as giving perfect clarity to universal truths · Preface to Several Poems

“A man must be overly ambitious who is not satisfied with moderation.”

Praising balance and restraint over endless striving · Essay, Of Moderation

“Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it.”

Emphasizing that application turns raw information into true wisdom · Prose reflection, Essays in Verse and Prose

“To be creative means to be in love with life.”

Connecting artistic expression directly with enthusiasm for living · Prose writings on art and imagination

“He that desires to live well, should strive to live obscurely.”

Advocating for the quiet peace of a private life far from public scrutiny · Essay, Of Obscurity

“Virtue is its own reward, but it seldom finds an appreciative audience.”

Reflecting on how noble character often goes unnoticed by the world · Prose essay, Of Virtue

“There is no habit so difficult to break as that of being idle.”

Warning of the subtle trap and self-perpetuating nature of inactivity · Essay, Of Idleness

“Ambition is at the bottom of all great actions, though it often leads to ruin.”

Acknowledging ambition as both a powerful motivator and a double-edged sword · Prose essay, Of Ambition

“The utility of business is not to be compared with the pleasure and innocence of study.”

Reckoning the quiet joys of learning to be superior to commercial ambition · Essay, Of Agriculture

“It is a hard and nice subject for a man to speak of himself; it grates his own heart to say anything of disparagement, and the reader's ears to hear anything of praise.”

Highlighting the delicacy and awkwardness inherent in writing autobiography · Essay, Of Myself

“Greatness is nothing in itself, but as it is relative to others.”

Observing how societal status relies entirely on comparison rather than intrinsic worth · Essay, Of Greatness

“If we engage in a large acquaintance and various familiarities, we set open our gates to the invaders of our time.”

Protecting personal time and inner focus from external intrusions · Essay, Of Solitude

“God the first garden made, and the first city Cain.”

Contrasting the purity of nature with the corruption of urban civilization · Essay, Of Agriculture

“Custom is the plague of wise men and the idol of fools.”

Warning against blind conformity and unthinking obedience to tradition · Essay, Of Liberty

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