“Of no distemper, of no blast he died,
But fell like autumn fruit that mellowed long —
Even wondered at, because he dropped no sooner.
Fate seemed to wind him up for fourscore years,
Yet freshly ran he on ten winters more;
Till like a clock worn out with eating time,
The wheels of weary life at last stood still.”

—  John Dryden

Act IV, scene i.
Œdipus (1679)

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John Dryden 196
English poet and playwright of the XVIIth century 1631–1700

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