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Introduction, "The Shepherd and the Philosopher"; "Midnight oil" was a common phrase, used by Quarles, Shenstone, Cowper, Lloyd, and others.

— John Gay Fables (1727)

Whence thy learning? Hath thy toil
O'er books consumed the midnight oil?

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More quotes by John Gay

Life is a jest; and all things show it. I thought so once; and now I know it.

While there is life there's hope, he cried.

Fables (1727)

I must have women—there is nothing unbends the mind like them.

The Beggar's Opera (1728)

The fly that sips treacle is lost in the sweets.

The Beggar's Opera (1728)

Brother, brother! we are both in the wrong.

The Beggar's Opera (1728)

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Attribution

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