Be silent always when you doubt your sense; And speak, though sure, with seeming diffidence: Some positive, persisting fops we know, Who, if once wro… - Alexander Pope

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Engraved portrait of Alexander Pope, facing right

Be silent always when you doubt your sense;
And speak, though sure, with seeming diffidence:
Some positive, persisting fops we know,
Who, if once wrong, will needs be always so;
But you, with pleasure own your errors past,
And make each day a critic on the last.

English
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About Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744) was a poet and satirist of the Augustan period and one of its greatest artistic exponents. Considered the foremost English poet of the early 18th century and a master of the heroic couplet, he is best known for satirical and discursive poetry.

Biography information from Wikiquote · Portrait adapted from Wikimedia Commons, Michael Dahl (Public domain / CC0)

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Pope the Poet Alexander I Pope Alexander, I Pope

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Additional quotes by Alexander Pope

"We may see the small Value God has for Riches, by the People he gives them to."

[Thoughts on Various Subjects, 1727]

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