John Dryden
John Dryden
John Drydenwas an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made England's first Poet Laureate in 1668...
affect gravity men name solid wanting wit
Those wanting wit affect gravity and go by the name of solid men
affects assumes ears monarch seems shake
With ravished ears / The monarch hears, / Assumes the god, / Affects to nod, / And seems to shake the spheres.
grace affection goodness
Let grace and goodness be the principal loadstone of thy affections.
giant theirs
Theirs was the giant race, before the flood.
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
danced days witness
Witness ye days and nights, and all ye hours, / That danced away with down upon your feet.
cousin
Cousin Swift, you will never be a poet.
chose discourse nearest rugged verse
And this unpolished rugged verse I chose / As fittest for discourse and nearest prose.
though warm
And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm
poor ten thousand torture word
And torture one poor word ten thousand ways.
child thus
And thus the child imposes on the man.
image scattered wide
And, wide as his command, / Scattered his Maker's image through the land.
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
glorious sons treason
During his office, treason was no crime. / The sons of Belial had a glorious time.