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William Cowper Prime Quotes

Stalking along from log to log, or plunging their long legs in the oozy swamp, two large herons paid no attention to my presence, but occupied themselves with their own fishing arrangements, as if their wilderness were

Stalking along from log to log, or plunging their long legs in the oozy swamp, two large herons paid no attention to my presence, but occupied themselves with their own fishing arrangements, as if their wilderness were their own.

William Cowper Prime
Lakes, Sea, Fishing
William Cowper Prime (1876). “I Go A-fishing”, p.132

It is only the inexperienced and thoughtless who find pleasure in killing fish for the mere sake of killing them. No sportsman does this.

William Cowper Prime
Fishing, Doe, Sake
William Cowper Prime (1876). “I Go A-fishing”, p.143

There is no more graceful and healthful accomplishment for a lady than fly-fishing, and there is no reason why a lady should not in every respect, rival a gentleman in the gentle art.

William Cowper Prime
Art, Sea, Fishing
William Cowper Prime (1873). “I Go A-fishing”, p.297

All the charm of the angler's life would be lost but for these hours of thought and memory. All along the brook, all day on lake or river, while he takes his sport, he thinks. All the long evenings in camp, or cottage, or inn, he tells stories of his own life, hears stories of his friend's lives, and if alone calls up the magic of memory.

William Cowper Prime
Sports, Memories, Thinking
William Cowper Prime (1873). “I Go A-fishing”, p.187

In the name of sense, man, if God made fish to be eaten, what difference does it make if I enjoy the killing of them before I eat them? You would have none but a fisherman by trade do it, and then you would have him utter a sigh, a prayer, and a pious ejaculation at each cod or haddock that he killed.

William Cowper Prime
Prayer, Men, Differences
William Cowper Prime (1876). “I Go A-fishing”, p.266

We who go a-fishing are a peculiar people. Like other men and women in many respects, we are like one another, and like no others, in other respects. We understand each other's thoughts by an intuition of which we know nothing. We cast our flies on many waters, where memories and fancies and facts rise, and we take them and show them to each other, and small or large, we are content with our catch.

William Cowper Prime
Memories, Men, Sea

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