--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But oars alone can ne'er prevail To reach…" description: "\"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.\" — William Cowper" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d0/william-cowper-779_breaths_but-oars-alone-can-ne-er-prevail-to-reac_128322.png" --- # But oars alone can ne'er prevail To reach the distant… ![“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.” quote by William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d0/william-cowper-779_breaths_but-oars-alone-can-ne-er-prevail-to-reac_128322.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d0/william-cowper-779_breaths_but-oars-alone-can-ne-er-prevail-to-reac_128322.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d0/william-cowper-779_breaths_but-oars-alone-can-ne-er-prevail-to-reac_128322.png) > “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.” [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success requires both effort and external support; without the right conditions, hard work alone fails. **In simple terms:** Hard work needs help to succeed. Key Takeaway Combine effort with favorable conditions. Themes effort support dependence Mood determined reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - team projects - sailing - business ventures Key Concepts collaboration environment resource Practical Applications - seek supportive resources - align timing with conditions Questions to Reflect On - What support do you need? - How can you influence your environment? A Different Perspective If conditions are unfavorable, effort may still be wasted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Coast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coast/) [Distant Coast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distant-coast-1477910/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Heaven Swell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-swell-1477912/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Oar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oar/) [Sail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sail/) [Sail Toil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sail-toil-1477909/) [Swell Sail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swell-sail-1477911/) [Toil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toil/) ## Related quotes > [Defend me, therefore, common sense, say From reveries so airy, from the toil Of dropping buckets into empty wells, And growing old in drawing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/defend-me-therefore-common-sense-say-from-reveries-so-airy-from-the/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Toil for the brave! The brave that are no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/toil-for-the-brave-the-brave-that-are-no-more/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Oh swiftly glides the bonnie boat, Just parted from the shore, And to the fisher's chorus-note Soft moves the dipping oar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/oh-swiftly-glides-the-bonnie-boat-just-parted-from-the-shore-and-to/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [If any pale student, glued to his desk, here seek an apology for a way of life whose natural fruits is that pallid and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-parkman/if-any-pale-student-glued-to-his-desk-here-seek-an-apology-for-a-way/) [Francis Parkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-parkman/) > [Quorum and group leaders should provide the leading voice and laboring oar in every ward and branch council regarding retention of converts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-todd-christofferson/quorum-and-group-leaders-should-provide-the-leading-voice-and/) [D. Todd Christofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-todd-christofferson/) > [Mental purity will come through constant chanting of the divine name. This is the simplest way. You are trying to cross the ocean of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/mental-purity-will-come-through-constant-chanting-of-the-divine-name/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [The judgment is an utensil proper for all subjects, and will have an oar in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-judgment-is-an-utensil-proper-for-all-subjects-and-will-have-an/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Low stir of leaves and dip of oars And lapsing waves on quiet shores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/low-stir-of-leaves-and-dip-of-oars-and-lapsing-waves-on-quiet-shores/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [He knows enough, the mariner, who knows Where lurk the shelves, and where the whirlpools boil, What signs portend the storm: to subtler minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/he-knows-enough-the-mariner-who-knows-where-lurk-the-shelves-and/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [In any case, his religious teaching consisted mostly in more or less vague ethical remarks, an obscure mixture of ideals of English gentlemanliness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/in-any-case-his-religious-teaching-consisted-mostly-in-more-or-less/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The Greek in me wanted to know what it felt like to pull an oar. The intellectual wondered about how to get eight individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-s-strauss/the-greek-in-me-wanted-to-know-what-it-felt-like-to-pull-an-oar-the/) [Barry S. Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-s-strauss/) > [Never rest on your oars as a boss. If you do, the whole company starts sinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/never-rest-on-your-oars-as-a-boss-if-you-do-the-whole-company-starts/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [To follow the drops sliding from a lifting oar, Head up, while the rower breathes, and the small boat drifts quietly shoreward...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/to-follow-the-drops-sliding-from-a-lifting-oar-head-up-while-the/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [All in the golden afternoon Full leisurely we glide; For both our oars, with little skill, By little arms are plied, While little hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/all-in-the-golden-afternoon-full-leisurely-we-glide-for-both-our-oars/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [The masses do not see the Sirens. They do not hear songs in the air. 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Prayer keeps the Christian's armor bright. And Satan trembles when he sees. The weakest saint upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/when-we-don-t-pray-we-quit-the-fight-prayer-keeps-the-christian-s/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [But animated nature sweeter still, to soothe and satisfy the human ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/but-animated-nature-sweeter-still-to-soothe-and-satisfy-the-human-ear/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [A fretful temper will divide the closest knot that may be tied, by ceaseless sharp corrosion; a temper passionate and fierce may suddenly your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/a-fretful-temper-will-divide-the-closest-knot-that-may-be-tied-by/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Ten thousand casks, Forever dribbling out their base contents, Touch'd by the Midas finger of the state, Bleed gold for ministers to sport away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/ten-thousand-casks-forever-dribbling-out-their-base-contents-touch-d/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [The art of poetry is to touch the passions, and its duty to lead them on the side of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/the-art-of-poetry-is-to-touch-the-passions-and-its-duty-to-lead-them/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [No man can be a patriot on an empty stomach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/no-man-can-be-a-patriot-on-an-empty-stomach/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) [Explore all 371 William Cowper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) ## More Breaths quotes > [Don't let a breath escape from your body without Krishna's name. 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