John Dryden
John Dryden
John Drydenwas an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made England's first Poet Laureate in 1668...
though warm
And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm
arms business hasten short
Of seeming arms to make a short essay, / Then hasten to be drunk, the business of the day.
cure doctor exercise fee fields health hunt wise
Better to hunt in fields for health unbought than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught. The wise for cure on exercise depend;
dive pearls search surface
Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow; he who would search for pearls must dive below.
blunt edge near
So sicken waning moons too near the sun,/ And blunt their crescents on the edge of day.
boils mob nation rises
A mob is the scum that rises up most when the nation boils
horrid stillness tempest
An horrid stillness first invades the ear, / And in that stillness we the tempest fear.
child thus
And thus the child imposes on the man.
authority combat establish general men particular reputation themselves understanding
They who would combat general authority with particular opinion, must first establish themselves a reputation of understanding better than other men
age genius includes particular studies universal
Every age has a kind of universal genius, which includes those that live in it to some particular studies
free nature
I am as free as nature first made man.
affect gravity men name solid wanting wit
Those wanting wit affect gravity and go by the name of solid men
confidence believe literature
For they conquer who believe they can.
resolve performances
Be slow to resolve, but quick in performance.