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Poems List

At thirty a man suspects himself a fool;

Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan.

3

To know the world, not love her, is thy point,

She gives but little, nor that little, long.

3

How science dwindles, and how volumes swell,

How commentators each dark passage shun,

3

One to destroy, is murder by the law;

And gibbets keep the lifted hand in awe;

1

Be wise with speed;

A fool at forty is a fool indeed.

2

Death loves a shining mark, a signal blow.

Night Thoughts. Night V, l. 1011

2

Too low they build, who build beneath the stars.

Night Thoughts. Night VIII, l. 215

5

By night an atheist half believes a God.

Night Thoughts. Night V, l. 177

3

Like our shadows, Our wishes lengthen as our sun declines.

Night Thoughts. Night V, l. 661

2

Man wants but little, nor that little long.

Night Thoughts. Night IV, l. 118

4

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Edward Young was an English poet and literary critic, best known for his ambitious blank verse poem 'The Complaint: or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality,' commonly known as 'Night-Thoughts.' Born in Upham, Hampshire, he was educated at Winchester College and All Souls College, Oxford, where he became a fellow. He pursued a career in the church, eventually becoming rector of Welwyn in Hertfordshire. While Young wrote several other works, including satires and tragedies, 'Night-Thoughts' was his most influential and popular work, profoundly shaping the themes and style of the 'graveyard school' of poetry and influencing European Romanticism. His life was characterized by literary pursuits and clerical duties. He died in 1765 in Welwyn.