Fortune, not wisdom, human life doth sway. [ Cicero ]
Fantastic tyrant of the amorous heart,
How hard thy yoke! how cruel is thy dart!
Those escape thy anger who refuse thy sway,
And those are punished most who most obey. [ Prior ]
Without an helm or pilot her to sway;
Full sad and dreadful is that ship's event,
So is the man that wants intendiment. [ Spenser ]
Thirst of power and of riches now bear sway,
The passion and infirmity of age. [ Frowde ]
Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway,
And fools who came to scoff remain'd to pray. [ Goldsmith ]
Hands that the rod of empire might have sway'd.
Or waked to ecstacy the living lyre. [ Gray ]
Venus, thy eternal sway all the race of men obey. [ Euripides ]
A rusty nail, placed near the faithful compass,
Will sway it from the truth, and wreck the argosy. [ Scott ]
Change still doth reign, and keep the greater sway. [ Spenser ]
Mightier far
Than strength of nerve or sinew, or the sway
Of magic potent over sun and star,
Is love, though oft to agony distrest,
And though his favorite seat be feeble woman's breast. [ Wordsworth ]
Wisdom! I bless thy gentle sway, and ever, ever will obey. [ Mrs. Barbauld ]
The supreme sway of chastity over the senses makes her queenly. [ Joubert ]
What people will say - in these words there lies the tyranny of the world, the whole destruction of our natural disposition, the oblique vision of our minds. These four words bear sway everywhere. [ Auerbach ]
Wisdom is the only thing which can relieve us from the sway of the passions and the fear of danger, and which can teach us to bear the injuries of fortune itself with moderation, and which shows us all the ways which lead to tranquillity and peace. [ Cicero ]
Music may be classed into natural, social, sacred, and martial; it is the twin sister of poetry, and like it has the power to sway the feelings and command the mind; in devotion it breathes the pure spirit of inspiration and love; in martial scenes it rouses the soul to fearless deeds of daring and valor, while it alleviates the cares, and enhances the innocent and cheerful enjoyments of domestic life. [ Acton ]