Pretty! in amber to observe the forms Of hairs, or straws, or dirt, or grubs, or worms!1 The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare, But wonder how the devil they got there.
Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot. Prologue to the Satires. Line 169.
Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, And without sneering teach the rest to sneer;3 Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike, Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.
Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot. Prologue to the Satires. Line 201.
Note 3. 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]