“Accept a miracle instead of wit,—
See two dull lines with Stanhope's pencil writ.”
Lines written with the Diamond Pencil of Lord Chesterfield; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
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Edward Young110
English poet 1683–1765Related quotes
“Manner is all in all, whate'er is writ,
The substitute for genius, sense, and wit.”
William Cowper (1731–1800) (1731–1800) English poet and hymnodist
Source: Table Talk (1782), Line 542.
Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) Persian poet, philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer
The Rubaiyat (1120)
“Who can prove
Wit to be witty when with deeper ground
Dulness intuitive declares wit dull?”
George Eliot book Scenes of Clerical Life
A College Breakfast-party, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
Scenes of Clerical Life (1858)
“O learn to read what silent love hath writ: To hear with eyes belongs to love´s fine wit.”
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English playwright and poet
Source: Sonnet XXIII
Context: As an unperfect actor on the stage,
Who with his fear is put besides his part,
Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,
Whose strength’s abundance weakens his own heart;
So I, for fear of trust, forget to say
The perfect ceremony of love’s right,
And in mine own love’s strength seem to decay,
O’ercharged with burthen of mine own love’s might.
O, let my books be then the eloquence
And dumb presagers of my speaking breast;
Who plead for love, and look for recompense,
More than that tongue that more hath more express’d.
O, learn to read what silent love hath writ:
To hear with eyes belongs to love’s fine wit.
“Are you slow-witted? I'm so sorry for you. It's terrible to be dull and stupid.”
Lloyd Alexander book The Book of Three
Source: The Book of Three
“As a wit, if not first, in the very first line.”
Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774) Irish physician and writer
Source: Retaliation (1774), Line 96.