“For rhetoric, he could not ope
His mouth, but out there flew a trope;
And when he happen'd to break off
I' th' middle of his speech, or cough,
H' had hard words,ready to show why,
And tell what rules he did it by;”

—  Samuel Butler (poet) , Hudibras

Canto I, line 81
Hudibras, Part I (1663–1664)
Context: For rhetoric, he could not ope
His mouth, but out there flew a trope;
And when he happen'd to break off
I' th' middle of his speech, or cough,
H' had hard words, ready to show why,
And tell what rules he did it by;
Else, when with greatest art he spoke,
You'd think he talk'd like other folk,
For all a rhetorician's rules
Teach nothing but to name his tools.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "For rhetoric, he could not ope His mouth, but out there flew a trope; And when he happen'd to break off I' th' middl…" by Samuel Butler (poet)?
Samuel Butler (poet) photo
Samuel Butler (poet) 81
poet and satirist 1612–1680

Related quotes

Patrick Modiano photo

“His speech is hesitant because he is used to crossing out his words. It is true that after several redrafts, his style may be crystal clear. But when he takes the floor, he no longer has any means at his disposal to correct his stumbling speech.”

Patrick Modiano (1945) French writer

From Nobel Lecture (2014)

Robert M. Pirsig photo

“When it is known that Plato put his own words in Socrates' mouth (Aristotle says this) there should be no reason to doubt that he could have put his own words into other mouths too.”

Robert M. Pirsig book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Source: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974), Ch. 29

F. Scott Fitzgerald photo

“And he could not tell why the struggle was worth while, why he had determined to use the utmost himself and his heritage from the personalities he has passed….”

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) American novelist and screenwriter

Quoted, This Side of Paradise (1920)

“Jerry had been about to protest when Janza opened his mouth. "It's okay with me. I can beat this kid any way you want." And Jerry saw, to his dismay, that Archie had counted on Janza's reaction. He had known that Jerry couldn't back away now- he had come too far. Archie had bestowed one of his sickly sweet smiles on Jerry. "What do you say, Renault? Do you accept the rules?" What could he say? After the phone calls and the beating. After the desecration of his locker. The silent treatment. Pushed downstairs. What they did to Goober, to Brother Eugene. What guys like Archie and Janza did to the school. What they did to the world when they left Trinity.”

Robert Cormier book The Chocolate War

Source: The Chocolate War (1974), p. 235-236

Mickey Spillane photo

“They had left him for dead in the middle of a pool of blood in his own bedroom, his belly slit open like gaping barn doors, the hilt of the knife wedged against his sternum. But the only trouble was that he had stayed alive somehow, his life pumping out, managing to knock the telephone off the little table and dial me. Now he was looking up at me with seconds left and all he could do was force out the words, "Mike …there was no reason."”

Mickey Spillane (1918–2006) American writer

Survival...Zero! (1970)

Meg Cabot photo

“He let his mouth linger on mine, neither possessively nor sweetly… like his mouth just belonged there on mine. And he was right. It did. It always had.”

Meg Cabot (1967) Novelist

Source: Abandon

Samuel Butler (poet) photo

“His notions fitted things so well,
That which was which he could not tell;
But oftentimes mistook th' one
For th' other, as great clerks have done.”

Samuel Butler (poet) Hudibras

Canto I, line 131
Hudibras, Part I (1663–1664)
Context: Whatever sceptic could inquire for,
For ev'ry why he had a wherefore;
Knew more than forty of them do,
As far as words and terms cou'd go.
All which he understood by rote
And, as occasion serv'd, would quote;
No matter whether right or wrong,
They might be either said or sung.
His notions fitted things so well,
That which was which he could not tell;
But oftentimes mistook th' one
For th' other, as great clerks have done.

James Patterson photo

“I didn't think he was a robot… but I did wonder if his emotions had been designed out of him. Of course, with a guy, how could I tell? Ha ha!”

James Patterson (1947) American author

Source: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

Zia Haider Rahman photo

“I oscillate between loathing Vladimir Nabokov ’s novels (when I think he’s showing off or insisting on making his presence felt) and loving them. This morning, I can’t stand a word of his fiction. But Nabokov’s “Letters to Vera” is not fiction. The showing off, such as there is, is that of a man to his lover, whose absence is felt. The fact that these are the words—such beautiful words—of a writer to his beloved of more than 46 years readies you for the spirit of sincerity in which they were written. Besides, I’m a sucker for a love story.”

Zia Haider Rahman British novelist

"12 Months of Reading", Who read what in 2014, December 13, 2014 Who is Reading what in 2014 http://www.wsj.com/articles/who-read-what-in-2014-1418426064 13 December 2014 "The Wall Street Journal". Retrieved on 2014-12-20.

“Upon finding his quarry, he would learn what he could, make an evaluation, and act accordingly. Then he would tell his superiors whatever they wanted to hear, just as he always had.”

Bradley Denton (1958) American science fiction author

Source: Buddy Holly is Alive and Well on Ganymede (1991), p. 63

Related topics