Man wants but little here below Nor wants that little long," 'Tis not with me exactly so; But 'tis so in the song. My wants are many, and, if told, Would muster many a score; And were each wish a mint of gold, I still should long for more. ~John Quincy AdamsIf everything proceeded according to their wishes, they would not understand what it means to follow God. ~John CalvinColdfire used to inspire all not now These are tired, maybe they'll find their niche Or resort to wish. ~ Michael Cosgrove, Dryden Mitchell, Tye Zamora, Terence CorsoAnd theevil wish is most evil to the wisher. ~HesiodI wish I knew thegood of wishing. ~ Henry S. LeighIf yourheart is in yourdream No request is too extreme When you wish upon astar As dreamers do Fate iskind She brings to those wholove The sweet fulfillment of theirsecret longing. Like a bolt out of the blue Fate steps in and sees you through When you wish upon a star Your dreams come true. ~Ned Washington lyrics, sung byCliff Edwards
If everything proceeded according to their wishes, they would not understand what it means to follow God.
John Calvin,Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life Page 53
Genie: Uh, rule number one: I can't kill anybody. (He slices his head off with his finger.) So don't ask. Rule number two (He puts his head back on): I can't make anyone fall in love with anyone else. (His head turns into a giant pair of lips which kiss Aladdin.) You little punim, there. (Lies flat, then gets up and transforms into a green, slimy zombie with a Peter Lorre accent.) Rule number three: I can't bring people back from the dead. It's not a pretty picture, (He grabs Aladdin and shakes him) I don't like doing it! (He poofs back to normal.) Other than that, you got it.
Proud, proud is to hear it all yeah yeah Proud ah proud, proud is to watch us fall yeah yeah Make a wish, make a succotash wish You live the pompous life Throw kisses all the time Make wishes, don't break mine Make a wish, make a succotash wish You live the pompous life Throw kisses all the time Don't break mine, don't break mine Coldfire used to inspire all not now These are tired, maybe they'll find their niche Or resort to wish
Michael Cosgrove, Dryden Mitchell, Tye Zamora, Terence Corso;Alien Ant Farm,Wish from the albumANThology, New Noize and DreamWorks Records (2001)
But there is little gain to be had from wishes, the last attempt at a solution for the weak and the lazy.
If yourheart is in yourdream No request is too extreme When you wish upon astar As dreamers do Fate iskind She brings to those wholove The sweet fulfillment of theirsecret longing. Like a bolt out of the blue Fate steps in and sees you through When you wish upon a star Your dreams come true.
Comics speak, without qualm or sophistication, to the innermost ears of the wishful self. The response is like that of a thirsty traveler who suddenly finds water in the desert - he drinks to satiation.
Henry: There ain't no such thing asmagic, is there?
Bollie: I guess not, Henry. Or maybe...maybe there is magic. And maybe there's wishes, too. I guess the trouble is...there's not enough people around tobelieve...
Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought: I stay too long by thee, I weary thee.
William Shakespeare,Henry IV, Part II (c. 1597-99), Act IV, scene 5, line 93. "Thy wish was father to that thought." Idea found in Arrian—Anabasis. I, Chapter VII. Æschylus—Prometh. Vinct. I. 928. Achilles Tatius—De Leucippes, Book VI. 17. Heliodorus, Book VIII. Cæsar—De Bello Gallico, III. 18. Quintilian—Institutes, Book VI, Chapter II, Section V. (Ed. Bonnell). (1861).
Edward Young,Night Thoughts (1742-1745), Night IV, line 71.
He calls his wish, it comes; he sends it back, And says he called another; that arrives, Meets the same welcome; yet he still calls on; Till one calls him, who varies not his call, But holds him fast, in chains of darkness bound, Till Nature dies, and judgment sets him free; A freedom far less welcome than this chain.
Edward Young,Night Thoughts (1742-1745), Night IV. Lines near end.
Man wants but little, nor that little long; How soon must he resign his very dust, Which frugal nature lent him for an hour!
Edward Young,Night Thoughts (1742-1745), Night IV, line 118.
What folly can be ranker. Like our shadows, Our wishes lengthen as our sun declines.
Edward Young,Night Thoughts (1742-1745), Night V, line 661.
"Man wants but little here below Nor wants that little long," 'Tis not with me exactly so; But 'tis so in the song. My wants are many, and, if told, Would muster many a score; And were each wish a mint of gold, I still should long for more.
Little I ask; my wants are few; I only wish a hut of stone (A very plain brown stone will do), That I may call my own; And close at hand is such a one In yonder street that fronts the sun.
If I live to grow old, as I find I go down, Let this be my fate in a country town; May I have a warm house, with a stone at my gate, And a cleanly young girl to rub my bald pate. May I govern my passions with an absolute sway, Grow wiser and better as my strength wears away, Without gout or stone, by a gentle decay.
Walter Pope,The Old Man's Wish; first appeared in A Collection of Thirty one Songs. (1685).
I've often wished that I had clear, For life, six hundred pounds a year, A handsome house to lodge a friend, A river at my garden's end, A terrace walk, and half a rood Of land, set out to plant a wood.
