William Wordsworth (April 7, 1770-April 23, 1850) was one of the first English Romantic poets. He published his Lyrical Ballads in 1798; and Poems in Two Volumes in 1807. Other works include: The Excursion; The White Doe of Rylstone; Memorials of a Tour of the Continent; and Ecclesiastical Sketches. Greatly criticized at first, his works gradually became recognized, and in 1843, Queen Victoria appointed him Poet-Laureate of England:
<TRUST IN THE SAVIOUR
But Thou art true, Incarnate Lord!
Who didst vouchsafe for man to die;
Thy smile is sure, Thy plighted Word
No charge can falsify.> 1770WW001
<HYMN FOR THE BOATMAN
Jesus, bless our slender boat,
By the current swept along!
Loud its threatenings-let them not
Drown the music of a song
Breathed Thy mercy to implore,
Where the troubled waters roar.
Saviour, for our warning, seen
Bleeding on that precious rood;
If, while through the meadows green
Gently wound the peaceful flood,
We forget Thee, do not Thou
Disregard Thy suppliants now.> 1770WW002
<TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE
But to outweigh all harm, the sacred Book,
In dusty sequestration wrapt too long,
Assumes the accents of our native tongue;
And he who guides the plow or wields the crook
With understanding spirit now may look
Upon her records, listen to her song,
And sift her laws-much wondering that the wrong
Which Faith hath suffered, Heaven could calmly brook.
Transcendent boon! Noblest that earthly king
Ever bestowed to equalize and bless
Under the weight of mortal wretchedness.> 1770WW003
William Wordsworth stated:
<The best part of a good man's life is the little unremembered acts of kindness and love.> 1770WW004
--
American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1770WW001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). William Wordsworth, Trust in the Saviour. Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, OR: American Heritage Ministries, 1987; Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas), pp. 521-522.
1770WW002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). William Wordsworth, Hymn for the Boatman. Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, OR: American Heritage Ministries, 1987; Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas), pp. 521-522.
1770WW003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). William Wordsworth,. Translation of the Bible. Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, OR: American Heritage Ministries, 1987; Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas), pp. 521-522.
1770WW004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). William Wordsworth, Perry Tanksley, To Love is to Give (Jackson, Mississippi: Allgood Books, Box 1329; Parthenon Press, 201 8th Ave., South, Nashville, Tennessee, 1972), p. 51.