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Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories.

— John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester Attributed

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Source and credibility

Wikiquote lists this as attributed to John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, but no primary source has been found.

Source: Reported in Herbert Victor Prochnow, ed., The New Speaker's Treasury of Wit and Wisdom (1958)
Source quality: Secondhand citation Quoted from another book or article rather than from the original.

More by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

The devil played booty, sure, with thee
To bring a blot on infamy.

Nothing, thou elder brother e'en to shade.

Love, the most generous passion of the mind
The softest refuge innocence can find.

A Letter from Artemisia in Town to Chloe in the Country (1680)

Much wine had past, with grave discourse,
Of who fucks who, and who does worse.

Poems on Several Occasions (1680)

But mark what creatures women are:
How infinitely vile, when fair!

Poems on Several Occasions (1680)

He saw her lovely bosom bare,
Her strawberry nipples made him stare.

Reason, an Ignis fatuus of the Mind,
Which leaves the light of Nature, Sense, behind.

A Satire against Reason and Mankind (1679)

For all Men would be Cowards if they durst:
And Honesty's against all common Sense.

A Satire against Reason and Mankind (1679)

All John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester quotes →

More quotes by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

There's not a thing on Earth, that I can name,
So foolish, and so false, as common fame.

Poems on Several Occasions (1680)

Love a woman? You're an ass!
'Tis a most insipid passion
To choose out for your happiness
The silliest part of God's creation.

Poems on Several Occasions (1680)

Dead, we become the lumber of the world.

Poems on Several Occasions (1680)

The Elephant is never won with Anger,
Nor must that man, who would reclaim a Lion,
Take him by the teeth.

Valentinian (1685)

Natural freedoms are but just:
There's something generous in mere lust.

A Ramble in St. James' Park (1672)

All John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.