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Thy praise or dispraise is to me alike; One doth not stroke me, nor the other strike.

Ben Jonson

He that would have his virtue published, is not the servant of virtue, but glory.
BEN JONSON

Glory Servant Virtue
Memory, of all the powers of the mind, is the most delicate and frail.
BEN JONSON

Frail Memories Mind
Words borrowed of Antiquity do lend a kind of Majesty to style, and are not without their delight sometimes.
BEN JONSON

Past Winning Years
For they have the authority of years, and out of their intermission do win to themselves a kind of grace-like newness. But the eldest of the present, and newest of the past Language, is the best.
BEN JONSON

Intermission Newest Present Themselves
It is as great a spite to be praised in the wrong place, and by a wrong person, as can be done to a noble nature.
BEN JONSON

Done Noble Person Wrong
The soul of man is infinite in what it covets.
BEN JONSON

Infinite Men Soul
Let those that merely talk and never think, That live in the wild anarchy of drink
BEN JONSON

Anarchy Drinking Thinking
If men will impartially, and not asquint, look toward the offices and function of a poet, they will easily conclude to themselves the impossibility of any man’s being a good poet without first being a good man.
BEN JONSON

Good Man Men Office
He that departs with his own honesty For Vulgar , doth it too dearly buy.
BEN JONSON

Honesty Vulgar
Wine it is the milk of Venus, And the poet’s horse accounted: Ply it and you all are mounted.
BEN JONSON

Horse Plies Wine
Very few men are wise by their own council, or learned by their own teaching. For he that was only taught by himself, had a fool for a master.
BEN JONSON

Men Teaching Wise
Guilt’s a terrible thing.
BEN JONSON

Guilt Terrible Things
Good men are the stars, the planets of the ages wherein they live, and illustrate the times.
BEN JONSON

Good Time Illustrate Men Stars
O! How vain and vile a passion is this fear! What base uncomely things it makes men do.
BEN JONSON

Fear Men Passion
Good men but see death, the wicked taste it.
BEN JONSON

Death Good Man Men
[The play] is like to be a very conceited scurvy one, in plain English.
BEN JONSON

Conceited English Plain Play

Thy praise or dispraise is to me alike; One doth not stroke me, nor the other strike.

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Thy praise or dispraise is to me alike; One doth not stroke me, nor the other strike.

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Popular Authors

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