John Wilmot
John Wilmot
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court. The Restoration reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester was the embodiment of the new era, and he is as well known for his rakish lifestyle as his poetry, although the two were often interlinked. He died at the age of 33 from venereal disease...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth1 April 1647
lows lays saviour
Whenever you preach, be sure that you lift the Saviour high and lay the sinner low.
dream dog doors
For Hell and the foul fiend that rules God's everlasting fiery jails (Devised by rogues, dreaded by fools), With his grim, grisly dog that keeps the door, Are senseless stories, idle tales, Dreams, whimseys, and no more.
jealous fate thinking
'Tis dangerous to think - For who by thinking tempts his jealous Fate, Is straight arraign'd as Traytor to the State, And none that come within the Verge of Sense, Have to Preferment now the least Pretence. . . .
world rochester lumber
Dead we become the lumber of the world.
grateful heart wine
If you have a grateful heart (which is a miracle amongst you statesmen), show it by directing the bearer to the best wine in town, and pray let not this highest point of sacred friendship be performed slightly, but go about it with all due deliberation and care, as holy priests to sacrifice, or as discreet thieves to the wary performance of burglary and shop-lifting. Let your well-discerning palate (the best judge about you) travel from cellar to cellar and then from piece to piece till it has lighted on wine fit for its noble choice and my approbation.
honesty men common-sense
For all Men would be Cowards if they durst: And Honesty's against all common Sense.
passion mind innocence
Love, the most generous passion of the mind The softest refuge innocence can find
self born
Born to myself, I like myself alone.
love heart angel
Angels listen when she speaks; She's my delight, all mankind's wonder; But my jealous heart would break Should we live one day asunder.
women farewell drinking
Farewell, woman! I intend Henceforth every night to sit With my lewd, well-natured friend, Drinking to engender wit.
excellence faults taste
Tis a meaner part of sense to find a fault than taste an excellence.
marriage daughter mother
Mothers who force their daughters into interested marriage, are worse than the Ammonites who sacrificed their children to Moloch--the latter undergoing a speedy death, the former suffering years of torture, but too frequently leading to the same result.
wise drinking blow
Thus, statesmanlike, I'll saucily impose, And safe from action, valiantly advise; Sheltered in impotence, urge you to blows, And being good for nothing else, be wise.
kindness greatness men
To pick out the wildest and most fantastical odd man alive, and to place your kindness there, is an act so brave and daring as will show the greatness of your spirit and distinguish you in love, as you are in all things else, from womankind.