On the Late Indecent Liberties Taken With the Remains of Milton
by William Cowper

English poet. The simplicity of his work and his treatment of natural subjects was in marked contrast to the sophistication of the fashionable Pope; he was an important forerunner of the Romantics, and his unfinished poem 'Yardley Oak' was particularly admired by Wordsworth. Other notable poems include 'The Poplar Trees', 'The Journey of John Gilpin' and 'The Castaway', while The Task is his most ambitious work in verse. Olney Hymns (1779) contains his popular hymns 'God moves in a mysterious way' and 'Oh, for a closer walk with God'. His autobiographical Memoir was published in 1816, and his letters have been widely appreciated, providing an intimate picture of the man.

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On the Late Indecent Liberties Taken With the Remains of Milton
by William Cowper

"Me too, perchance, in future days,
The sculptured stone shall show,
With Paphian myrtle or with bays
Parnassian on my brow.

But I, or e'er that season come,
Escaped from every care,
Shall reach my refuge in the tomb,
And sleep securely there."

So sang, in Roman tone and style,
The youthful bard, ere long
Ordained to grace his native isle
With her sublimest song.

Who then but must conceive disdain,
Hearing the deed unblest,
Of wretches who have dared profane
His dread sepulchral rest?

Ill fare the hands that heaved the stones
Where Milton's ashes lay,
That trembled not to grasp his bones
And steal his dust away!

O ill-requited bard! neglect
Thy living worth repaid,
And blind idolatrous respect
As much affronts thee dead.

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On the Late Indecent Liberties Taken With the Remains of Milton by William Cowper