And think they grow immortal as they quote.
To patch-work learned quotations are allied
Both strive to make our poverty our pride.'
Ouch!
Edward Young (1683 - 1765) was such a good satirist that he still makes me wince today.
Unfortunately, although his pen was sharp, real life easily outwitted him. He sought fortune by flattering men on the brink of ruin, and fame through association with men about to become notorious.
Young sorted himself out in the end (he became a clergyman at the age of fifty). He even wrote an influential work on genius that proved an inspiration to the Romantics.
But it's still his satire that I love best.
'With skill she vibrates her eternal tongue
For ever most divinely in the wrong.'
Ouch! Ouch ouch ouch!
Word To Use Today: young. This word is actually very old. It comes from the Old English geong, and can be traced right back to the Sanskrit yuvan.
A real find....that thing about divinely in the wrong is good. I know lots of people like that!
ReplyDeleteYes - beyond all nasty earthly inconveniences such as truth or logic. So do I!
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