John Gay: Trending quotes

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John Gay: 112 quotes0 likes

“A Wolf eats sheep but now and then;
Ten thousands are devour'd by men.
An open foe may prove a curse,
but a pretend friend is worse.”

Fable XVII, "The Shepherd's Dog and the Wolf"
Fables (1727)

“Twas when the seas were roaring
With hollow blasts of wind,
A damsel lay deploring,
All on a rock reclined.”

The What D'ye Call It (1715), Act II, sc. viii

“Remote from cities liv'd a swain,
Unvex'd with all the cares of gain;
His head was silver'd o'er with age,
And long experience made him sage.”

Introduction, "The Shepherd and the Philosopher"
Fables (1727)

“Brother, brother! we are both in the wrong.”

Act II, scene ii
The Beggar's Opera (1728)

“T is woman that seduces all mankind;
By her we first were taught the wheedling arts.”

Act I, scene i
The Beggar's Opera (1728)

“I don't enquire after your Affairs-- --so whatever happens, I wash my hands on't---- It hath always been my Maxim, that one Friend should assist another-- --But if you please----I'll take one of the Scarfs home with me. 'Tis always good to have something in Hand.”

Trapes, Act III, sc. vi
The Beggar's Opera (1728)

“How the mother is to be pitied who hath handsome daughters! Locks, bolts, bars, and lectures of morality are nothing to them: they break through them all. They have as much pleasure in cheating a father and mother, as in cheating at cards.”

Mrs. Peachum, Act I, sc. viii
The Beggar's Opera (1728)

“You know, my Dear, I never meddle in matters of Death; I always leave those Affairs to you. Women indeed are bitter bad Judges in these cases, for they are so partial to the Brave that they think every Man handsome who is going to the Camp or the Gallows.”

Mrs. Peachum, Act I, sc. iv
The Beggar's Opera (1728)

“I hate the man who builds his name
On ruins of another's fame.
Thus prudes, by characters o'erthrown,
Imagine that they raise their own.
Thus Scribblers, covetous of praise,
Think slander can transplant the bays.”

Fable XLV, "The Poet and the Rose"
Fables (1727)

“Man may escape from rope and gun;
Nay, some have outlived the doctor's pill:
Who takes a woman must be undone,
That basilisk is sure to kill.
The fly that sips treacle is lost in the sweets,
So he that tastes woman, woman, woman,
He that tastes woman, ruin meets.”

Act II, sc. viii, air 26
The Beggar's Opera (1728)

“My lodging is on the cold ground,
And hard, very hard, is my fare,
But that which grieves me more
Is the coldness of my dear.”

My Lodging Is on the Cold Ground (1720), st. 1

“Those who in quarrels intepose
Must often wipe a bloody nose.”

Fable XXXIV, "The Mastiffs"
Fables (1727)

“Envy is a kind of praise.”

Fable XLIV http://books.google.com/books?id=8Q9IAAAAMAAJ&q=%22envy+is+a+kind+of+praise%22&pg=PA170#v=onepage, "The Hound and the Huntsman" <br class="br">Fables (1727)

“Can you support the expense of a husband, hussy, in gaming, drinking and whoring? Have you money enough to carry on the daily quarrels of man and wife about who shall squander most? There are not many husbands and wives, who can bear the charges of plaguing one another in a handsome way.”

Mrs. Peachum, Act I, sc. viii
The Beggar's Opera (1728)

“By outward show let's not be cheated;
An ass should like an ass be treated.”

XI, "The Packhorse and Carrier"
Fables (1727), Fables, Part the Second (1738)

“Through all the Employments of Life
Each Neighbour abuses his Brother;
Whore and Rogue they call Husband and Wife:
All Professions be-rogue one another:
The Priest calls the Lawyer a Cheat,
The Lawyer be-knaves the Divine:
And the Statesman, because he's so great,
Thinks his Trade as honest as mine.”

Peachum, Act I, air 1
The Beggar's Opera (1728)