John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester. 1647-1680. John Bartlett, comp. 1919. Familiar Quotations, 10th ed.

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

John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester. (1647–1680)

    Angels listen when she speaks:
  She ’s my delight, all mankind’s wonder;
But my jealous heart would break
  Should we live one day asunder.

Song.

    Here lies our sovereign lord the king,
  Whose word no man relies on;
He never says a foolish thing,
  Nor ever does a wise one.

Written on the Bedchamber Door of Charles II.

And ever since the Conquest have been fools.

Artemisia in the Town to Chloe in the Country.

For pointed satire I would Buckhurst choose,
The best good man with the worst-natured muse. 1

An allusion to Horace, Satire x. Book i.

A merry monarch, scandalous and poor.

On the King.

It is a very good world to live in,
To lend, or to spend, or to give in;
But to beg or to borrow, or to get a man’s own,
It is the very worst world that ever was known. 2

Note 1.
Thou best-humour’d man with the worst-humour’d muse!—Oliver Goldsmith: Retaliation. Postscript. [back]

Note 2.
These last four lines are attributed to Rochester. [back]

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