Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Alexander PopeRead
Fly, dotard, fly! With thy wise dreams and fables of the sky.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests the folly of clinging to unrealistic ideals and fantasies.
In this quote, Alexander Pope addresses a foolish or aging person ('dotard') who is caught up in idealistic dreams and imaginative tales. Pope encourages this individual to abandon these lofty fantasies and instead confront the reality of life, suggesting a tension between idealism and realism in human experience.
Themes
DreamsRealityPhilosophyFoolishnessTruth
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the importance of facing reality, I might say, 'Fly, dotard, fly! With thy wise dreams and fables of the sky.'
More from Alexander Pope
All quotes βWhat dire offence from am'rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things.
Alexander PopeRead
Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare; And beauty draws us with a single hair.
Alexander PopeRead
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
Alexander PopeRead
One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight;_x000D_ _x000D_ Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight.
Alexander PopeRead
Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?
Alexander PopeRead
Similar quotes
Dangerous acts can be done safely in a community which thinks and feels rightly, which would be the way to hell if they were executed by those who think and feel wrongly.
John Maynard KeynesRead
To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.
Frederick DouglassRead
REJECT ALL FORMS OF CORRUPTION THAT DIVERT RESOURCES FROM THE POOR
Pope FrancisRead
Our government rests upon religion. It is from that source that we derive our reverance for truth and justice, for equality and liberty, and for the rights of mankind. Unless the people believe in these principles they cannot believe in our government.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
The great ideals of the past failed not by being outlived (which must mean over-lived), but by not being lived enough. Mankind has not passed through the Middle Ages. Rather mankind has retreated from the Middle Ages in reaction and rout. The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead
The Old Testament God is a person with body parts and passions. The Church of England God has neither body, parts nor passions, and is therefore not a person.
George Bernard ShawRead