We flee from Death's bitter cup; he follows, loving and fain.

-Abu'l-'Ala¤   Al-Ma'arri
c.1000  Luzu'  miyya'  t, stanza 36 (translated by R  A Nicholson in Studies in Islamic Poetry,1921).

   The L ismy shepherd; Ishall not want.He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.Yea, though I walk through the valleyof theshadow of death,I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the L for ever.

-Bible (Old Testament)
ORDORDPsalms 23:1^6.

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying,O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

-Bible (NewTestament)
St Matthew 26:39.

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

-Bible (NewTestament)
St Luke 22:42.

   The Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said,Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying,This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

-Bible (NewTestament)
Corinthians11:23^6.

Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me: thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full.

-Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 23:5.

My times be inThy hand! Perfect the cup as planned! Let age approve of youth, and Death complete the same!

-Browning, Robert
  Dramatis Personae,'Rabbi ben Ezra', stanza 32.

For auld lang syne, my jo, For auld lang syne, We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet For auld lang syne.

-Burns, Robert
  'Auld Lang Syne', chorus. This is the most familiar version of an older, traditional song, reworked by Burns.

There's death in the cupösae beware! Nay, moreöthere is danger in touching; But wha can avoid the fell snare? The man and his wine's sae bewitching!

-Burns, Robert
  'Inscription on a Goblet'.

The theory that the League and Cup double will never be done in modern times is nonsense. I realize no one has done it for sixty years, but there is a simple explanation for that. No club has been good enough.

-Busby, Sir Matt(hew)
  Attributed, four years before Tottenham Hotspur won both the League Championship and the FA Cup.

Years steal Fire from the mind as vigour from the limb; And life's enchanted cup but sparkles near the brim.

-Rochdale
^18  Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, canto 3, stanza 8.

A big hard-boiled city with no more personality than a paper cup.

-Chandler, Raymond
  Of Los  Angeles. The Little Sister, ch.26.

While Socrates empties the cup of poison with unshaken soul,Christ exclaims,'If it is possible, let this cup pass from me'.Christ in this respect is the self- confession of human sensibility.

-Feuerbach, Ludwig
Das Wesen des Christentums (translated by MaryAnn Evans (George Eliot) as The Essence of Christianity,1854).

Give me the plumpVenetian, fat, and lusty, That meets me soft and supple, smiles upon me As if a cup of full wine leaped to kiss me.

-Fo, Dario
c.1621 The Wild-Goose Chase, act1, sc.2.

   It is the lees left by Bismarck that still foul the cup.

-Grey of Fallodon, Edward Grey, 1st Viscount
  On the duplicity of international diplomacy as practised in the early 20c. Letter to President Roosevelt, Dec. Quoted in G M Trevelyan Grey of Fallodon (1937).

Drink to me, only, with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss but in the cup, And I'll not look for wine.

-Jonson, Ben
  The Forest,'To Celia'.

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred†[nor] allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence.

-King, Martin LutherJr
  Speech at the Lincoln Memorial, 28  Aug, during the March on Washington.

I have seen flowers come in stony places And kind things done by men with ugly faces, And the gold cup won by the worst horse at the races, So I trust, too.

-Masefield,John Edward
  'An Epilogue'.

That cordial drop heaven in our cup has thrown To make the nauseous draught of life go down.

-Rochester,JohnWilmot, 2nd Earl of
c.1674  Of love.'A Letter from Artemisia in theTown to Chloe in the Country', l.44^5 (published1679).

Come fill up my cup, come fill up my cann, Come saddle my horses, and call up my man; Come open your gates, and let me gae free, I daurna stay langer in Bonny Dundee!

-Scott, Sir Walter
  Rob Roy, ch.23.