John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
John Wilmot
| 1 |
| 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. |
| 2 |
| 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. |
| 3 |
| And ever since the Conquest have been fools. |
| Artemisia in the Town to Chloe in the Country. |
| 4 |
| 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. |
| 5 |
| A merry monarch, scandalous and poor. |
| On the King. |
| 6 |
| 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] |