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
man plain reason
Why has not man a microscopic eye? For the plain reason man is not a fly.
passion reason undone
What Reason weaves, by Passion is undone.
men firsts reason
Say first, of god above or man below; what can we reason but from what we know.
able care reason
Reason, however able, cool at best, Cares not for service, or but serves when prest, Stays till we call, and then not often near.
suits reason instinct
Whether with Reason, or with Instinct blest, Know, all enjoy that pow'r which suits them best.
birthday count grateful
PLeas'd look forward, pleas'd to look behind, And count each birthday with a grateful mind.
men stupidity criticism
Fools admire, but men of sense approve.
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.