--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pernicious weed! whose scent the fair…" description: "\"Pernicious weed! whose scent the fair annoys, Unfriendly to society's chief joys: Thy worst effect is banishing for hours The sex whose presence civili..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/william-cowper-779_annoying_pernicious-weed-whose-scent-the-fair-ann_1710444.png" --- # Pernicious weed! whose scent the fair annoys, Unfriendly… ![“Pernicious weed! whose scent the fair annoys, Unfriendly to society's chief joys: Thy worst effect is banishing for hours The sex whose presence civilizes ours.” quote by William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/william-cowper-779_annoying_pernicious-weed-whose-scent-the-fair-ann_1710444.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/william-cowper-779_annoying_pernicious-weed-whose-scent-the-fair-ann_1710444.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/william-cowper-779_annoying_pernicious-weed-whose-scent-the-fair-ann_1710444.png) > “Pernicious weed! whose scent the fair annoys, Unfriendly to society's chief joys: Thy worst effect is banishing for hours The sex whose presence civilizes ours.” [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. A poisonous weed disrupts society’s joy, likened to a sexual presence that civilizes humanity. **In simple terms:** Weed harms joy, sex civilizes. Key Takeaway Recognize harmful influences. Themes society morality nature Mood critical analytical Type literary social When to use this quote - urban planning - public health - education curricula Key Concepts philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - What modern “weed” harms society? - How does intimacy shape civilization? A Different Perspective Metaphor may be obscure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Annoying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annoying/) [Banishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banishing-1240220/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Effect Banishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effect-banishing-1240222/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Fairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairs/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Pernicious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pernicious/) [Pernicious Weed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pernicious-weed-284637/) [Scent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scent/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Unfriendly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfriendly/) [Weed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weed/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) ## Related quotes > [Hops are a wicked and pernicious weed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-viii-of-england/hops-are-a-wicked-and-pernicious-weed/) [Henry VIII of England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-viii-of-england/) > [It may be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/it-may-be-that-those-whose-work-is-their-pleasure-are-those-who-most/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [My plea is for banishing the English language as a cultural usurper, as we successfully banished the political rule of the English usurper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-plea-is-for-banishing-the-english-language-as-a-cultural-usurper/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Banishing those evil twins: -Talk about values -Don’t assume people understand your motives -Don’t be above explaining yourself -Dare to invite feedback -Understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gill-geisler/banishing-those-evil-twins-talk-about-values-don-t-assume-people/) [Gill Geisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gill-geisler/) > [“By banishing metaphysics, materialism has no longer an ethical system, knows no longer the distinction between good and evil, possesses no moral law, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/by-banishing-metaphysics-materialism-has-no-longer-an-ethical-system/) [Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/) > [Let there be wicked kings and beheadings, battles and dungeons, giants and dragons, and let the villans be soundly killed at the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/let-there-be-wicked-kings-and-beheadings-battles-and-dungeons-giants/) [C. 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We refuse sympathy and intimacy with people, as if we waited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/wisdom-will-never-let-us-stand-with-any-man-on-an-unfriendly-footing/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Being carefree, you can fit in anywhere. If you’re not carefree you keep on bumping up against things. Your life becomes so narrow, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsoknyi-rinpoche/being-carefree-you-can-fit-in-anywhere-if-you-re-not-carefree-you/) [Tsoknyi Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsoknyi-rinpoche/) > [The intellect searches out the Absolute order of things as they stand in the mind of God, and without the colors of affection. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-intellect-searches-out-the-absolute-order-of-things-as-they-stand/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by William Cowper > [And hast thou sworn on every slight pretence, Till perjuries are common as bad pence, While thousands, careless of the damning sin, Kiss the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/and-hast-thou-sworn-on-every-slight-pretence-till-perjuries-are/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [No wild enthusiast could rest, till half the world like him was possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/no-wild-enthusiast-could-rest-till-half-the-world-like-him-was/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Admirals extolled for standing still, or doing nothing with a deal of skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/admirals-extolled-for-standing-still-or-doing-nothing-with-a-deal-of/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [“The good we never miss we rarely prize”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/the-good-we-never-miss-we-rarely-prize/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Thus happiness depends, as nature shows, less on exterior things than most suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/thus-happiness-depends-as-nature-shows-less-on-exterior-things-than/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Stamps God's own name upon a lie just made, To turn a penny in the way of trade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/stamps-god-s-own-name-upon-a-lie-just-made-to-turn-a-penny-in-the-way/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/but-oars-alone-can-ne-er-prevail-to-reach-the-distant-coast-the/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [“Nature is but a name for an effect whose cause is God"...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/nature-is-but-a-name-for-an-effect-whose-cause-is-god/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [But conversation, choose what theme we may, And chiefly when religion leads the way, Should flow, like waters after summer show'rs, Not as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/but-conversation-choose-what-theme-we-may-and-chiefly-when-religion/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Remorse, the fatal egg that pleasure laid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/remorse-the-fatal-egg-that-pleasure-laid/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [“When we don't pray, we quit the fight. 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