Quotes by Alexander Pope
At ev'ry word a reputation dies.
Hither the heroes and nymphs resort,To taste awhile the pleasures of a courtIn various talk th'instuctive hours they past,Who gave the ball, or paid the visit lastOne speaks the glory of the British Queen,And one describes a charming Indian screenlA third interprets motions, looks and eyesAt every word a reputation dies.
Lo! thy dread empire, Chaos! is restored; dies before thy uncreating word: thy hand, great Anarch! lets the curtain fall; and universal darkness buries all.
Woman's at best a contradiction still.
True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those who move easiest have learned to dance.
Those move easiest who have learn'd to dance.
Awake, my St. John! leave all meaner things To low ambition, and the pride of Kings....
When much dispute has past, we find our tenets just the same as last.
The hidden harmony is better than the obvious.
Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame
Fix'd like a plan on his peculiar spot, to draw nutrition, propagate, and rot.
Words are like leaves and where they most abound, Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.
Most souls, 'tis true, but peep out once an age, Dull sullen pris'ners in the body's cage:...
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
A man should never be ashamed to own he has been wrong, which is but saying, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.
Charm strikes the sight, but merit wins the soul.
Not always actions show the man; we find who does a kindness is not therefore kind.
Our rural ancestors, with little blest, Patient of labour when the end was rest, Indulged the day that housed their annual grain, With feasts, and off'rings, and a thankful strain.
No woman ever hates a man for being in love with her, but many a woman hate a man for being a friend to her.
Thus let me live, unseen, unknown; thus unlamented let me die; steal from the world, and not a stone tell where I lie.
Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see, that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me.
Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, And without sneering teach the rest to sneer; Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike, Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike; Alike reserv'd to blame, or to commend, A tim'rous foe, and a suspicious friend.
A brain of feathers, and a heart of lead.
The greatest magnifying glasses in the world are a man's own eyes when they look upon his own person.
Strength of mind is exercise, not rest
