“Content with poverty, my soul I arm;
And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm.”
On Fortune; Book III, Ode 29, lines 81–87.
Imitation of Horace (1685)
Context: I can enjoy her while she's kind;
But when she dances in the wind,
And shakes the wings and will not stay,
I puff the prostitute away:
The little or the much she gave is quietly resign'd:
Content with poverty, my soul I arm;
And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm.
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
John Dryden 196
English poet and playwright of the XVIIth century 1631–1700Related quotes
Source: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
“I told my doctor I broke my arm in two places. He told me to keep out of those places.”
Variant: I told my doctor I broke my arm in two places. He told me to keep out of those places.
Source: It's Not Easy Bein' Me: A Lifetime of No Respect But Plenty of Sex and Drugs (2004), p. 8
“There is no scandal like rags, nor any crime so shameful as poverty.”
The Beaux’ Stratagem (1707), Arch, Act i, Sc. 1.
Variant: How we need that security. How we need another soul to cling to, another body to keep us warm. To rest and trust; to give your soul in confidence: I need this. I need someone to pour myself into.
Source: The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
“You nodded off in my arms watching tv
I won’t move you an inch
Even though my arm’s asleep.”
"Gracie", Songs for Silverman (2005).
Song lyrics, Solo
Source: Jane Scroop (her lament for Philip Sparrow) (likely published c. 1509), Colyn Cloute (published c. 1550), Lines 53-58 (evaluating his own ability as a poet).