Man may escape from rope and gun;
Nay, some have outlived the doctor's pill:
Who takes a woman must be undone,
That basilisk is sure to kill.
The fly that sips treacle is lost in the sweets,
So he that tastes woman, woman, woman,
He that tastes woman, ruin meets.

— John Gay The Beggar's Opera (1728)

More quotes by John Gay

Fables (1727)

The Beggar's Opera (1728)

The Beggar's Opera (1728)

The Beggar's Opera (1728)

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