John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
3119 Matthew Prior 1664-1721 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 3119 |
| AUTHOR: | Matthew Prior (1664–1721) |
| QUOTATION: | For hope is but the dream of those that wake. 1 |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Solomon on the Vanity of the World. Book iii. Line 102. |
| Note 1. This thought is ascribed to Aristotle by Diogenes Laertius (Aristotle, v. xi.), who, when asked what hope is, answered, “The dream of a waking man.” Menage, in his “Observations upon Laertius,” says that Stobæus (Serm. cix.) ascribes it to Pindar, while Ælian (Var. Hist. xiii. 29) refers it to Plato. Et spes inanes, et velut somnia quædam, vigilantium (Vain hopes are like certain dreams of those who wake).—Quintilian: vi. 2, 27. [back] |