Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Popewas an 18th-century English poet. He is best known for his satirical verse, as well as for his translation of Homer. Famous for his use of the heroic couplet, he is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth21 May 1688
anger angry faults others ourselves revenge
To be angry is to revenge the faults of others upon ourselves
madmen run saint self worst zeal
For virtue's self may too much zeal be had; the worst of madmen is a saint run mad.
birthday count grateful
PLeas'd look forward, pleas'd to look behind, And count each birthday with a grateful mind.
few vicious virtue virtuous
Virtuous and vicious everyone must be; few in extremes, but all in degree.
bent common education forms inclined tis twig
Tis education forms the common mind; just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined
argument delight true
True disputants are like true sportsman: their whole delight is in the pursuit.
cool crowd fan flourish shall turn
Where'er you walk, cool glades shall fan the glade / Trees, where you sit, shall crowd into a shade: / Where'er you tread, the blusing flow'rs shall rise, / And all things flourish where you turn your eyes.
spring judging deeds
Judge not of actions by their mere effect; Dive to the center, and the cause detect. Great deeds from meanest springs may take their course, And smallest virtues from a mighty source.
shining poetry brighter
Truth shines the brighter, clad in verse.
mind mental-illness finest
The finest minds, like the finest metals, dissolve the easiest.
character hypocrisy civility
That character in conversation which commonly passes for agreeable is made up of civility and falsehood.
long acting serious
A long, exact, and serious comedy; In every scene some moral let it teach, And, if it can, at once both please and preach.
sky light sea
Seas roll to waft me, suns to light me rise; My footstool earth, my canopy the skies.
wise cheat frailty
Unthought-of Frailties cheat us in the Wise.