Natures great masterpiece, an elephant the only harmless great thing. – John Donne
When I must shipwrack, I would do it in a sea, where mine impotencie might have some excuse; not in a sullen weedy lake, where I could not have so much as exercise for my swimming. – John Donne
Full nakedness! All my joys are due to thee, as souls unbodied, bodies unclothed must be, to taste whole joys. – John Donne
I never had any other desire so strong, and so like covetousness, as that…. I might be master at last of a small house and a large garden, with very moderate conveniences joined to them, and there dedicate the remainder of my life to the culture of them and the study of nature. – Abraham Cowley