“Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may roll;
Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.”

—  Alexander Pope , The Rape of the Lock

Canto V, line 33
The Rape of the Lock (1712, revised 1714 and 1717)

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Alexander Pope 158
eighteenth century English poet 1688–1744

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“Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.”

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Canto V, line 33.
Variant: Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may roll;
Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.
Source: The Rape of the Lock (1712, revised 1714 and 1717)

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