The twenty-first century captivates us with its fascinating charm as science and technology hypnotize the world with new gadgets that promise to make life easier. We have immediate access to everything we want; but the hustle and bustle of today's mindset diminishes the true beauty of everyday experiences by shifting our focus from purpose to mere existence. While we maintain some semblance of deeper meaning through the so-called arts and humanities, my generation is drifting into the abyss of ignorance through an arbitrary and reckless decision to “take the path of least resistance.” This is especially true in the realm of literature, where the pleasures of entertainment temper the fatigue of critical thinking – a relief welcomed by the soul and imagination, but a compromise that ends in catastrophe: a future of hopeless uselessness; an empty and purposeless life! We are becoming a generation of mindless clones who do not know true virtue. The Epicurean philosophy of “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die” permeates our culture while eternal wisdom gathers dust on forgotten shelves. Jesus compared truth to seeds in the parable of the sower (Mk 4:3-20). Seeds that fall along the way never germinate and are eaten by predators. Seeds in stony earth germinate, but do not take root and wither. And the seeds in the grassy areas grow and become plants, but “the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things that enter into them, choke the [truth], and it becomes unfruitful (v.19 KJV ). Among the fallen seeds lies dormant the work of 18th-century poet William Cowper (1731-1800). What is the condition of the soil in the gardens of minds today? I have years of over-cultivation...... middle of paper......arch 16, 2012.Newey, Vincent. "William Cowper." Eighteenth-Century British Poets: Second Series. Ed. John E. Sitter. Detroit: Gail Research, 1991. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 109. Literary Resource Center. Network. March 25, 2012.Packer, Barbra. "Hope and Despair in the Writings of William Cowper." Social Research 66.2 (1999): 545-564. Academic research completed. Network. March 16, 2012.Piper, Giovanni. The hidden smile of God. Wheaton: Crossway. 2008. Print.Quinlan, Maurice J. William Cowper: A Critical Life. Minneapolis: The University of Minneapolis Press. 1953. Print.Risk, Louise B. A portrait of William Cowper. Glen Echo, MD: Brent Branch Publishers. 2004. Print.Tomlin, Graham. "Christians and Epicureans in 1 Corinthians". Journal for the Study of the New Testament 20.68 (1998): 51-71. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Network. April 28, 2012.