“Of all the causes which conspire to blindMan's erring judgement, and misguide the mind,What the weak head with strongest bias rules, Is PRIDE, the never-failing vice of fools.”

“Know then thyself, presume not God to scan,The proper study of mankind is Man.Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,A being darkly wise and rudely great:With too much knowledge for the Sceptic side,With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride,He hangs between, in doubt to act or rest;In doubt to deem himself a God or Beast;In doubt his mind or body to prefer;Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err;Alike in ignorance, his reason such,Whether he thinks too little or too much;Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;Still by himself abused or disabused;Created half to rise, and half to fall;Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd;The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!Go, wondrous creature! mount where science guides,Go, measure earth, weigh air, and state the tides;Instruct the planets in what orbs to run,Correct old time, and regulate the sun;Go, soar with Plato to th’ empyreal sphere,To the first good, first perfect, and first fair;Or tread the mazy round his followers trod,And quitting sense call imitating God;As Eastern priests in giddy circles run,And turn their heads to imitate the sun.Go, teach Eternal Wisdom how to rule—Then drop into thyself, and be a fool!”

“Out with it, Dunciad: let the secret pass -That secret to each fool - that he's an ass.The truth once told (and whereby should we lie?),The queen of Midas slept, and so may I.You think this cruel? Take it for a rule,No creature smarts so little as a fool.”

“All this dread order break- for whom? for thee?Vile worm!- oh madness! pride! impiety!”

“What dire offence from am'rous causes springs,What mighty contests rise from trivial things,...”

“Sure flattery never traveled so far as three thousand miles; it is now only for truth, which over takes all things, to reach you at this distance.”

“Yet graceful ease, and sweetness void of pride,Might hide her faults, if belles had faults to hide:If to her share some female errors fall,Look on her face, and you'll forget 'em all.”