14 quotes
Keep up the loud harmonious song,
And imitate the blest above,
In joy, and harmony, and love.
Song for St. Cecilia's Day (1692)
O ye powers that search
The heart of man, and weigh his inmost thoughts,
If I have done amiss, impute it not!
The best may err, but you are good.
Cato, A Tragedy (1713)
Talk not of love: thou never knew'st its force.
Cato, A Tragedy (1713)
Mysterious love, uncertain treasure,
Hast thou more of pain or pleasure!
Chill'd with tears,
Kill'd with fears,
Endless torments dwell about thee:
Yet who would live, and live without thee!
Queen Elinor in Rosamond (1707)
Beauty soon grows familiar to the lover,
Fades in his eye, and palls upon the sense.
Cato, A Tragedy (1713)
When love once pleas admission to our hearts,
(In spite of all the virtue we can boast),
The woman that deliberates is lost.
Cato, A Tragedy (1713)
Good nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit, and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty.
The Spectator (1711)
When love once pleads admission to our hearts,
(In spite of all the virtue we can boast),
The woman that deliberates is lost.
A cheerful temper joined with innocence will make beauty attractive, knowledge delightful and wit good-natured.
The Tatler (1711)
When love's well-timed 'tis not a fault to love;
The strong, the brave, the virtuous, and the wise,
Sink in the soft captivity together.
Were you with these, my prince, you'd soon forget
The pale, unripened beauties of the north.
Cato, A Tragedy (1713)
When love's well-timed 'tis not a fault of love;
The strong, the brave, the virtuous, and the wise,
Sink in the soft captivity together.
Cato, A Tragedy (1713)
A man's first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart; his next to escape the censures of the world: if the last interferes with the former, it ought to be entirely neglected; but otherwise there cannot be a greater satisfaction to an honest mind, than to see those approbations which it gives itself seconded by the applauses of the public: a man is more sure of his conduct, when the verdict which he passes upon his own behaviour is thus warranted and confirmed by the opinion of all that know him.
The Spectator (1711)
The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.
Misattributed