John Gay Quotes

1685–1732 England

John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera (1728), set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch.

England
Playwrights
Poets

Also known as: Gay, John

Random John Gay quote

109 quotes

And when a lady's in the case,
You know all other things give place.

Fables (1727)

A Wolf eats sheep but now and then;
Ten thousands are devour'd by men.
An open foe may prove a curse,
but a pretend friend is worse.

Fables (1727)

Nor love, nor honour, wealth nor pow'r,
Can give the heart a cheerful hour
When health is lost. Be timely wise;
With health all taste of pleasure flies.

Fables (1727)

'Tis thus that on the choice of friends
Our good or evil name depends.

If the heart of a man is depressed with cares,
The mist is dispell'd when a woman appears;
Like the notes of a fiddle, she sweetly, sweetly
Raises the spirits, and charms our ears.

The Beggar's Opera (1728)

Who hath not heard the rich complain
Of surfeits, and corporeal pain?
He barr'd from every use of wealth,
Envies the ploughman's strength and health.

Fables (1727)

Of all the fools that pride can boast,
A Coxcomb claims distinction most.

Fables (1727)

Friendship, like love, is but a name,
Unless to one you stint the flame.

In every rank, or great or small,
'Tis industry supports us all.

Those who in quarrels intepose
Must often wipe a bloody nose.

Fables (1727)

Impartially their talents scan,
Just education forms the man.

The brave
Love mercy, and delight to save.

Adieu, she cried, and waved her lily hand.

The prince who kept the world in awe,
The judge whose dictate fix'd the law;
The rich, the poor, the great, the small,
Are levell'd; death confounds 'em all.

Fables (1727)

So comes a reckoning when the banquet's o'er,—
The dreadful reckoning, and men smile no more.

The What d' ye call it (1715)

'Tis a woman that seduces all mankind;
By her we first were taught the wheedling arts.

The Beggar's Opera (1728)

'Twas when the seas were roaring
With hollow blasts of wind,
A damsel lay deploring,
All on a rock reclined.

The What D'ye Call It (1715)

Long open panegyric drags at best,
And praise is only praise when well address'd.

Who friendship with a knave hath made,
Is judg'd a partner in the trade.

Learning by study must be won;
'Twas ne'er entail'd from son to son.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: John Gay (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.