John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
3532 Alexander Pope 1688-1744 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 3532 |
| AUTHOR: | Alexander Pope (1688–1744) |
| QUOTATION: | Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, And without sneering teach the rest to sneer; 1 Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike, Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot. Prologue to the Satires. Line 201. |
| Note 1. When needs he must, yet faintly then he praises; Somewhat the deed, much more the means he raises: So marreth what he makes, and praising most, dispraises. P. Fletcher: The Purple Island, canto vii. [back] |