John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
3494 Alexander Pope 1688-1744 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 3494 |
| AUTHOR: | Alexander Pope (1688–1744) |
| QUOTATION: | Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows, And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows; But when loud surges lash the sounding shore, The hoarse rough verse should like the torrent roar. When Ajax strives some rock’s vast weight to throw, The line too labours, and the words move slow: Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, Flies o’er th’ unbending corn, and skims along the main. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Essay on Criticism. Part ii. Line 166. |