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Happy the poet who with ease can steer
From grave to gay, from lively to severe.

— Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux The Art of Poetry (1674)

Heureux qui, dans ses vers, sait d'une voix légère
Passer du grave au doux, du plaisant au sévère.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

As translated by John Dryden

Variants

Happy who in his verse can gently steer From grave to light, from pleasant to severe.

Topics

Poetry

More quotes by Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux

Honor is like an island, rugged and without a beach; once we have left it, we can never return.

Satires (1716)

Time flies and draws us with it. The moment in which I am speaking is already far from me.

Épitres (1701)

Hasten slowly, and without losing heart,
Put your work twenty times upon the anvil.

The Art of Poetry (1674)

Every age has its pleasures, its style of wit, and its own ways.

The Art of Poetry (1674)

A fool always finds one still more foolish to admire him.

The Art of Poetry (1674)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.