"Not to admire, is all the art I know
(Plain truth, dear Murray, needs few flowers of speech)
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"Not to admire, is all the art I know
(Plain truth, dear Murray, needs few flowers of speech)
To make men happy, or to keep them so."
(So take it in the very words of Creech)
Thus Horace wrote we all know long ago;
And thus Pope quotes the precept to re-teach
From his translation; but had none admired,
Would Pope have sung, or Horace been inspired?

Fools admire, but men of sense approve.

Fools admire, but men of sense approve.

here is an innocence in admiration; it is found in those to whom it has never yet occurred that they, read more

here is an innocence in admiration; it is found in those to whom it has never yet occurred that they, too, might be admired some day.

Distance is a great promoter of admiration!

Distance is a great promoter of admiration!

The king himself has follow'd her
When she has walk'd before.

The king himself has follow'd her
When she has walk'd before.

Some people are molded by their admirations, others by their hostilities.

Some people are molded by their admirations, others by their hostilities.

When a nation gives birth to a man who is able to produce a great thought, another is born who read more

When a nation gives birth to a man who is able to produce a great thought, another is born who is able to understand and admire it

What I have known with respect to myself, has tended much to lessen both my admiration, and my contempt, of read more

What I have known with respect to myself, has tended much to lessen both my admiration, and my contempt, of others.

The best emotions to write out of are anger and fear or dread. . . . The least energizing emotion read more

The best emotions to write out of are anger and fear or dread. . . . The least energizing emotion to write out of is admiration . . . because the basic feeling that goes with admiration is a passive contemplative mood.