The Poetical Works of William Cowper (Benham)/The Task
THE
TASK,
A
POEM,
IN SIX BOOKS.
By WILLIAM COWPER,
OF THE INNER TEMPLE, ESQ.
Fit surculus arbor.
Anonym.
To which are added,
BY THE SAME AUTHOR,
An Epistle to Joseph Hill, Esq. Tirocinium, or a
Review of Schools, and the History of John Gilpin.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, No 72, ST PAUL'S
CHURCH-YARD:
1785.
[Copy of the title-page of Cowper's second publication.]
ADVERTISEMENT.
The history of the following production is briefly this: A lady, fond of blank verse, demanded a poem of that kind from the author, and gave him the SOFA for a subject. He obeyed; and, having much leisure, connected another subject with it; and, pursuing the train of thought to which his situation and turn of mind led him, brought forth at length, instead of the trifle which he at first intended, a serious affair—a Volume.
In the poem on the subject of Education, he would be very sorry to stand suspected of having aimed his censure at any particular school. His objections are such as naturally apply themselves to schools in general. If there were not, as for the most part there is, wilful neglect in those who manage them, and an omission even of such discipline as they are susceptible of, the objects are yet too numerous for minute attention; and the aching hearts of ten thousand parents, mourning under the bitterest of all disappointments, attest the truth of the allegation. His quarrel, therefore, is with the mischief at large, and not with any particular instance of it.