John Dryden Quotes


Mere poets are sottish as mere drunkards are, who live in a continual mist, without seeing or judging anything clearly. A man should be learned in several sciences, and should have a reasonable, philosophical and in some measure a mathematical head, to be a complete and excellent poet.


Citations

Dryden, John, et al. Notes and Observations on the Empress of Morocco. Printed in the Year 1674, p. 2.

Related Quotes

This means that a little learning both excites and stupefies us, while extensive learning – "drinking largely" of the spring, a mythological fountain sacred to the Muses – makes us serious and wise.


John Dryden
John Dryden
  • Born: August 19, 1631
  • Died: May 12, 1700
  • Nationality: English
  • Profession: Poet

John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was appointed England's first Poet Laureate in 1668.