Quotes from Selected Poems
15 notable lines from John Dryden · 1697
Great wits are sure to madness near allied, / And thin partitions do their bounds divide.
None but the brave deserves the fair.
Alexander's Feast; or, The Power of Music Beware the fury of a patient man.
Absalom and Achitophel A man so various, that he seem'd to be / Not one, but all mankind's epitome.
Absalom and Achitophel, Pt. I (of Zimri / the Duke of Buckingham) Men are but children of a larger growth; / Our appetites as apt to change as theirs.
All for Love, Act IV, sc. i Farewell, too little, and too lately known.
To the Memory of Mr. Oldham All human things are subject to decay, / And, when fate summons, monarchs must obey.
Mac Flecknoe, opening lines From harmony, from heavenly harmony, / This universal frame began.
A Song for St. Cecilia's Day, 1687, opening lines Happy the man, and happy he alone, / He who can call today his own; / He who, secure within, can say, / Tomorrow, do thy worst, for I have lived today.
Imitation of Horace, Bk. III, Ode 29 Love conquers all, and we must yield to love.
Pastoral X (Eclogues) · trans. Dryden Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow; / He who would search for pearls must dive below.
All for Love, Prologue Death in itself is nothing; but we fear / To be we know not what, we know not where.
Aureng-Zebe, Act IV, sc. i War is the trade of kings.
King Arthur; or, The British Worthy, Act II The gates of hell are open night and day; / Smooth the descent, and easy is the way.
Aeneid, Bk. VI · trans. Dryden She fear'd no danger, for she knew no sin.
The Hind and the Panther, Pt. I, l. 4 (the milk-white Hind)