Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little; we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.

Major works
Olney Hymns 1779 in collaboration with John Newton
John Gilpin 1782
The Task 1785
Homer's Iliad and Odyssey 1791 (translations from the Greek). In 1795 Cowper moved with Mary to Norfolk. All of them were publiWilliam Cowperd in 1782 under the title Poems by William Cowper of the Inner Temple Esq.

One of the most popular poets of his time Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. His poem "Light Shining out of Darkness" gave the English language the idiom "God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform. William Cowper (pron.