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John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.

2925 John Dryden 1631-1700 John Bartlett

 
NUMBER:2925
AUTHOR:John Dryden (1631–1700)
QUOTATION:Great wits are sure to madness near allied,
And thin partitions do their bounds divide. 1
ATTRIBUTION:Absalom and Achitophel. Part i. Line 163.
 
Note 1.
No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness.—Aristotle: Problem, sect. 30.

Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiæ (There is no great genius without a tincture of madness).—Seneca: De Tranquillitate Animi, 15.

What thin partitions sense from thought divide!—Alexander Pope: Essay on Man, epistle i. line 226. [back]