JOHN DRYDEN

Bold knaves thrive without one grain of sense,

But good men starve for want of impudence.
Beware the fury of a patient man.
We first make our habits, then our habits make us.
Better shun the bait, than struggle in the snare.
There is a pleasure sure in being mad which none but madmen now.
!reat wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide. Absalom and Achitophel
But far more numerous was the herd of such,
Who think too little and who talk too much. Absalom and Achitophel

For whatsoe'er their sufferings were before,
hat change the! covet makes them suffer more.
"ll other errors but disturb a state#
But innovation is the blow of fate. Absalom and Achitophel
$'m a little wounded, but $ am not slain# $ will la! me down to bleed a while. hen $'ll rise and fight again.
%&o when the last and dreadful hour
his crumbling pageant shall devour,
he trumpet shall be heard on high,
The dead shall li"e# the li"ing die#
"nd 'usic shall untune the sk!
(app! the man, and happ! he alone, (e who can call toda! his own) (e who, secure within, can sa!, omorrow do th!
worst, for $ have lived toda!.
&ecret guilt is b! silence revealed.
*rrors like straws upon the surface flow) Who would search for pearls must dive below.
When $ consider +ife, 'tis all a cheat#
,et, fooled with hope, men favour the deceit#
rust on, and think to-morrow will repa!)
o-morrow's falser than the former da!#
+ies worse# and while it sa!s, we shall be blest
With some new .o!s, cuts off what we possesst. Aureng-Zebe
Death in itself is nothing$ but we fear%
To be we now not what# we now not where% Aureng-Zebe
+ove is love's reward.
$ strongl! wish for what $ faintl! hope# like the da!dreams of melanchol! men, $ think and think in things impossible, !et
love to wander in that golden ma/e.
Welcome, thou ind decei"er0
hou best of thie"es# who, with an eas! ke!,
1ost open life, and, unperceived b! us,
*ven steal us from ourselves. All for Love

&et 'ortune empty her whole (ui"er on me# ) ha"e a soul that# lie an ample shield# *an tae in all# and verge
enough for more# 'ate was not mine# nor am ) 'ate+s, -ouls now no con(uerors%
)t is easier to forgi"e an enemy than to forgi"e a friend%
For !ou ma! palm upon us new for old) "ll, as the! sa!, all that glitters# is not gold%
2one but the brave deserves the fair.
Boldness is a mask for fear, however great.
2ight came, but unattended with repose.
"lone she came, no sleep their e!es to close.
"lone and black she came# no friendl! stars arose.
+ove is a passion which kindles honor into noble acts.
3rder is the greatest grace
he winds that never moderation knew,
"fraid to blow too much, too faintl! blew#
3r out of breath with .o!, could not enlarge
heir straighten'd lungs or conscious of their charge.
hose who write ill, and the! who ne'er durst write,
urn critics out of mere revenge and spite.
4h!me is the rock on which thou art to wreck.
Where'e're $ go, m! &oul shall sta! with thee)
'is but m! &hadow $ take awa!...
King Arthur: Or, the British Worthy a !as"ue as #t #s $erformed at the %heatre-&oyal in 'ro(-)treet
2one are so bus! as the fool and knave.
Whatever is, is in its causes .ust#
But purblind man
&ees but a part o' th' chain# the nearest link#
(is e!es not carr!ing to that e5ual beam
hat poises all above. Oedipus: A %ragedy
1ancing is the poetr! of the foot.
3f no distemper, of no blast he died,
But fell like autumn fruit that mellowed long 6
*ven wondered at, because he dropped no sooner.
Fate seemed to wind him up for fourscore !ears,
,et freshl! ran he on ten winters more#
ill like a clock worn out with eating time,
he wheels of wear! life at last stood still. Oedipus: A %ragedy
4oused b! the lash of his own stubborn tail, 3ur lion now will foreign foes assail.
$f others in the same 7lass better see
'is for hemselves the! look, but not for me)
For m! &alvation must its 1oom receive
2ot from what others, but what $ believe. Oedipus: A %ragedy
.ll things are sub/ect to decay and when fate summons# monarchs must obey%
But dying is a pleasure 0 1hen li"ing is a pain.
Dim as the borrowed beams of moons and stars
o lonel!, wear!, wandering travelers,
)s Reason to the soul# and, as on high
hose rolling fires discover but the sk!,
2ot light us here, so 4eason's glimmering ra!
Was lent, not to assure our doubtful wa!,
But guide us upward to a better da!. &eligio Laici, or A Layman*s +aith
" sigh or tear perhaps she'll give,
But lo"e on pity cannot li"e,
ell her that hearts for hearts were made#
.nd lo"e with lo"e is only paid#
ell her m! pains so fast increase
hat soon it will be past redress#
For the wretch that speechless lies,
"ttends but death to close his e!es.
JOHN B2NY.N
,ou have not lived toda! until !ou have done something for someone who can never repa! !ou.
$n pra!er it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
When !ou pra!, rather let !our heart be without words then !our words without heart.
1ark clouds bring waters, when the bright bring none.
%he $ilgrim*s $rogress
he man that takes up religion for the world will throw awa! religion for the world.
%he $ilgrim*s $rogress
.&E3.NDER 4O4E
1hat Reason wea"es# by 4assion is undone%
,ssay on !an and Other $oems
" man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but sa!ing in other words that he is
wiser toda! than he was !esterda!.
"ct well !our part# there all the honour lies.
An ,ssay on !an
5now then thyself# presume not !od to scan#
The proper study of manind is 6an%
8laced on this isthmus of a middle state,
" being darkl! wise and rudel! great)
With too much knowledge for the &ceptic side,
With too much weakness for the &toic's pride,
(e hangs between, in doubt to act or rest#
$n doubt to deem himself a 7od or Beast#
$n doubt his mind or bod! to prefer#
Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err#
"like in ignorance, his reason such,
Whether he thinks too little or too much#
9haos of thought and passion, all confused#
&till b! himself abused or disabused#
9reated half to rise, and half to fall#
7reat lord of all things, !et a pre! to all#
&ole .udge of truth, in endless error hurl'd#
he glor!, .est, and riddle of the world0
An ,ssay on !an

Hope springs eternal in the human breast#
'an never $s, but alwa!s o be blest.
he soul, uneas!, and confin'd from home,
4ests and e:patiates in a life to come.
An ,ssay on !an
1o good b! stealth, and blush to find it fame.
An ,ssay on !an
"ll 2ature is but art, unknown to thee
"ll chance, direction, which thou canst not see#
"ll discord, harmon! not understood#
"ll partial evil, universal good.
An ,ssay on !an
Whatever is, is right.
An ,ssay on !an
"n honest man's the noblest work of 7od
An ,ssay on !an
chaos of thought and passion, all confus'd.
An ,ssay on !an
.ll forms that perish other forms supply,
;B! turns we catch the vital breath and die<
+ike bubbles on the sea of matter borne,
he! rise, the! break, and to that sea return.
An ,ssay on !an

3rder is heaven's first law.
An ,ssay on !an
For modes of faith let graceless /ealots fight, (is can't be wrong whose life is in the right.
An ,ssay on !an
4emembrance and reflection how allied0
1hat thin partitions -ense from Thought di"ide0
,ssay on !an and Other $oems
$n pride, in reasoning pride, our error lies#
"ll 5uit their sphere and rush into the skies.
8ride still is aiming at the blest abodes,
6en would be angels# angels would be gods%
"spiring to be gods, if angels fell,
"spiring to be angels, men rebel.
An ,ssay on !an - )atires
To err is human# to forgi"e# di"ine.
An ,ssay on 'riticism

. little learning is a dangerous thing%
1rink deep, or taste not the 8ierian &pring#
here shallow draughts into:icate the brain,
and drinking largel! sobers us again.
An ,ssay on 'riticism

Words are like +eaves# and where the! most abound,
'uch Fruit of &ense beneath is rarel! found.
An ,ssay on 'riticism
rue ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
"s those move easiest who have learn'd to dance.
An ,ssay on 'riticism
3ur .udgments, like our watches, none
go .ust alike, !et each believes his own
An ,ssay on 'riticism
rue Wit is 2ature to advantage dress'd
What oft was thought, but ne'er so well e:press'd#
&omething whose truth convinced at sight we find,
hat gives us back the image of our mind.
"s shades more sweetl! recommend the light,
&o modest plainness sets off sprightl! wit.
An ,ssay on 'riticism
'en must be taught as if !ou taught them not,
"nd things unknown propos'd as things forgot.
An ,ssay on 'riticism
'usic resembles poetr!, in each
"re nameless graces which no methods teach,
"nd which a master hand alone can reach.
An ,ssay on 'riticism
"uthors are partial to their wit, 'tis true,
But are not critics to their .udgment, too=
An ,ssay on 'riticism
$n words, as fashions, the same rule will hold#
"like fantastic, if too new, or old)
Be not the first b! whom the new are tried,
2or !et the last to la! the old aside.
An ,ssay on 'riticism
Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see,
hinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be,
$n ever! work regard the writer's end,
&ince none can compass more than the! intend#
"nd if the means be .ust, the conduct true,
"pplause, in spite of trivial faults, is due.
An ,ssay on 'riticism
Whose fame with pains we guard, but lose with ease,
&ure some to ve:, but never all to please.
An ,ssay on 'riticism
"verse alike to flatter, or offend#
2ot free from faults, nor !et too vain to mend.
An ,ssay on 'riticism
rue wit is nature to advantage dress'd,
What oft was thought, but ne'er so well e:press'd.
,ssay on 'riticism: ,dited (ith #ntroduction and .otes
&ome .udge of authors' names, not works, and then nor praise nor blame the writings, but the men.
An ,ssay on 'riticism
Wise wretch0 with pleasures too refined to please,
With too much spirit to be e'er at ease,
With too much 5uickness ever to be taught,
With too much thinking to have common thought)
,ou purchase pain with all that .o! can give,
"nd die of nothing but a rage to live.
!oral ,ssays

$f $ am right, h! grace impart
&till in the right to sta!#
$f $ am wrong, 3, teach m! heart
o find that better wa!0
!oral ,ssays
'en, some to business take, some to pleasure take# but ever! woman is at heart a rake
!oral ,ssays
(ow happ! is the blameless vestal>s lot0
he world forgetting, b! the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind0
*ach pra!>r accepted, and each wish resign>d
,loisa to Abelard

1eath, onl! death, can break the lasting chain#
"nd here, ev'n then, shall m! cold dust remain
,loisa to Abelard
"lread! written - wash it out, m! tears0
$n vain lost *loisa weeps and pra!s,
(er heart still dictates, and her hand obe!es.
,loisa to Abelard
Beauties in vain their prett! e!es ma! roll#
9harms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.
%he &ape of the Loc/

9harms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.
%he &ape of the Loc/
What dire offence from am'rous causes springs,
What might! contests rise from trivial things...
%he &ape of the Loc/
,et graceful ease, and sweetness void of pride,
'ight hide her faults, if belles had faults to hide)
$f to her share some female errors fall,
+ook on her face, and !ou'll forget 'em all.
%he &ape of the Loc/
he hungr! .udges soon the sentence sign, and wretches hang that .ur!men ma! dine.
%he &ape of the Loc/ and Other $oems
While pensive poets painful vigils keep,
&leepless themselves, to give their readers sleep.
%he 0unciad
2or public flame, nor private, dares to shine#
2or human spark is left, nor glimpse divine0
+o0 th! dread empire, 9haos0 is restored#
+ight dies before th! uncreating word)
h! hand, great "narch0 lets the curtain fall#
"nd universal darkness buries all.
%he 0unciad

8hilosoph!, that leaned on (eaven before,
&hrinks to her second cause, and is no more.
%he 0unciad
8oetic .ustice, with her lifted scale,
Where, in nice balance, truth with gold she weighs,
"nd solid pudding against empt! praise.
(ere she beholds the chaos dark and deep,
Where nameless somethings in their causes sleep,
ill genial ?acob, or a warm third da!,
9all forth each mass, a poem, or a pla!)
(ow hints, like spawn, scarce 5uick in embr!o lie,
(ow new-born nonsense first is taught to cr!.
%he 0unciad
Blessed is he who e7pects nothing# for he shall ne"er be disappointed.
$f !ou want to know what 7od thinks about mone! .ust look at the people (e gives it to.

&ome people will never learn an!thing, for this reason, because the! understand ever!thing too soon.
!iscellanies in 1erse and $rose
@ice is a monster of so frightful mien
"s to be hated needs but to be seen#
,et seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pit!, then embrace.

No woman e"er hates a man
for being in lo"e with her#
but mainl! a woman hates a
man for being her friend.
o wake the soul b! tender strokes of art,
o raise the genius, and to mend the heart
(istories are more full of e:amples of the fidelit! of dogs than of friends.
Letters of the Late Ale2ander $ope, ,s" to a Lady .ever Before $ublished

'an never thinks himself happ!, but when he en.o!s those things which others want or desire.
2ature and 2ature's laws la! hid in night)
7od said, +et 2ewton be0 and all was light.
3f all the causes which conspire to blind
'an's erring .udgement, and misguide the mind,
What the weak head with strongest bias rules,
$s 4R)DE# the ne"er8failing "ice of fools.
he Wit of 9heats, the 9ourage of a Whore,
"re what ten thousand env! and adore)
"ll, all look up, with reverential "we,
"t crimes that 'scape, or triumph o'er the +aw)
While ruth, Worth, Wisdom, dail! the! decr!-A
'2othing is sacred now but @illain!'
- *pilogue to the &atires, 1ialogue $
1ear fatal name0 rest ever unreveal'd,
2or pass these lips in hol! silence seal'd.
(ide it, m! heart, within that close disguise,
Where mi:ed with 7ods, his lov'd idea lies)
3 write it not, m! hand - the name appears
This long disease# my life.
,pistles and )atires of Ale2ander $ope
3ur rural ancestors, with little blest,
8atient of labor when the end was rest,
$ndulged the da! that housed their annual grain,
With feasts, and off'rings, and a thankful strain.
#mitations of 3orace
5now thyself# presume not !od to scan$
The proper study of manind is man.
"n e:cuse is worse and more terrible than a lie# for an e:cuse is a lie guarded
. wor of art that contains theories is lie an ob/ect on which the price tag has been left%
Bre"ity is the soul of wit.
-@ital spark of heav'nl! flame0
Buit, oh 5uit, this mortal frame)
rembling, hoping, ling'ring, fl!ing,
Oh the pain# the bliss of dying0
"ll nature is but art, unknown to thee#
"ll chance, direction, which thou canst not see#
"ll discord, harmon! not understood#
"ll partial evil, universal good.
"nd, spite of pride, in erring reason's spite,
3ne truth is clear, 'Whatever is, is right.
(app! the man, whose wish and care
" few paternal acres bound,
9ontent to breathe his native air
$n his own ground.
&ome who grow dull religious straight commence
"nd gain in morals what the! lose in sense.
!inor $oems

hen most our trouble still when most admired,
"nd still the more we give, the more re5uired#
For he li"es twice who can at once employ#
The present well# and e9en the past en/oy.
,es, $ am proud# ) must be proud to see
6en not afraid of !od afraid of me.
$ntrepid then, o'er seas and lands he flew)
*urope he saw, and *urope saw him too.
For forms of 7overnment let fools contest. Whate'er is best administered is best.
2o place so sacred from such frops is barred
2or is 8aul's 9hurch more safe than 8aul's 9hurch!ard
2a fl! to alter there the!'ll talk !ou dead
For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

1hat conscience dictates to be done#
Or warns me not to do#
This# teach me more than Hell to shun#
That# more than Hea"en pursue.
&ure flatter! never traveled so far as three thousand miles# it is now onl! for truth, which over takes all things, to reach
!ou at this distance.
hus let me live, unseen, unknown#
hus unlamented let me die#
&teal from the world, and not a stone
ell where $ lie.
rue wit is nature to advantage dressed, What oft was thought, but ne'er so well e:pressed.
3ne science onl! will one genius fitC &o vast is art, so narrow human wit

&ir, $ admit !our general rule,
hat e"ery poet is a fool%
But !ou !ourself ma! prove to show it,
E"ery fool is not a poet%
(eav'n from all creatures hides the book of Fate,
"ll but the page prescrib'd, their present state#
From brutes what men, from men what spirits know)
3r who could suffer Being here below=
he lamb th! riot dooms to bleed to-da!,
(ad he th! 4eason, would he skip and pla!=
8leas'd to the last, he crops the flow'r! food,
"nd licks the hand .ust rais'd to shed his blood.
3h blindness to the future0 kindl! giv'n,
hat each ma! fill the circle mark'd b! (eav'n#
Who sees with e5ual e!e, as 7od of all,
" hero perish, or a sparrow fall.
To be angry is to re"enge the faults of others on oursel"es%
For when success a lover's toil attends,
Few ask, if fraud or force attain'd his ends
Where beams of imagination pla!,
he memor!'s soft figures melt awa!.
$nvention furnishes "rt with all her materials, and without it, ?udgement itself can at best but steal (isely.