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Where Young must torture his invention
To flatter knaves, or lose his pension.
Where Young must torture his invention
To flatter knaves, or lose his pension.
Of praise a mere glutton, he swallow'd what came,
And the puff a dunce, he mistook it for fame;
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Of praise a mere glutton, he swallow'd what came,
And the puff a dunce, he mistook it for fame;
Till his relish grown callous, almost to displease,
Who pepper'd the highest was surest to please.
The best way to convince a fool that he is wrong is to let him have his own way.
The best way to convince a fool that he is wrong is to let him have his own way.
By flatterers besieged
And so obliging that he ne'er obliged.
By flatterers besieged
And so obliging that he ne'er obliged.
No adulation; 'tis the death of virtue;
Who flatters, is of all mankind the lowest
Save he read more
No adulation; 'tis the death of virtue;
Who flatters, is of all mankind the lowest
Save he who courts the flattery.
When Fortune flatters, she does it to betray.
When Fortune flatters, she does it to betray.
We sometimes think that we hate flattery, but we only hate the
manner in which it is done.
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We sometimes think that we hate flattery, but we only hate the
manner in which it is done.
[Fr., On croit quelquefoir hair la flatterie; maid on ne hait que
a maniere de flatter.]
'Tis an old maxim in the schools,
That flattery's the food of fools;
Yet now and then read more
'Tis an old maxim in the schools,
That flattery's the food of fools;
Yet now and then your men of wit
Will condescend to take a bit.
They do not abuse the king that flatter him.
For flattery is the bellows blows up sin;
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They do not abuse the king that flatter him.
For flattery is the bellows blows up sin;
The thing the which is flattered, but a spark
To which that blast gives heat and stronger glowing;
Whereas reproof, obedient and in order,
Fits kings as they are men, for they may err.