But oars alone can ne'er prevail To reach the distant coast; The breath of Heaven must swell the sail, Or all the toil is lost.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Hard work alone is not enough; you also need external help or favorable conditions to succeed.
- In plain terms
- You cannot reach your goal with effort alone; you need help from outside.
- What can you take from it?
- Success requires both effort and external support.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What can you not do alone?
- Who supports your work?
Another view
Sometimes effort is the only thing you can control.
More from William Cowper
Absence from whom we love is worse than death, And frustrate hope severer than despair.
Permalink to quote #1 Reasoning at every step he treads, Man yet mistakes his way, While meaner things, whom instinct leads, Are rarely known to stray.
Permalink to quote #3 Fate steals along with silent tread, Found oftenest in what least we dread, Frowns in the storm with angry brow, But in the sunshine strikes the blow.
Permalink to quote #4
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