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John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.

3532 Alexander Pope 1688-1744 John Bartlett

 
NUMBER:3532
AUTHOR:Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
QUOTATION:Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer,
And without sneering teach the rest to sneer; 1
Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,
Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.
ATTRIBUTION:Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot. Prologue to the Satires. Line 201.
 
Note 1.
When needs he must, yet faintly then he praises;
Somewhat the deed, much more the means he raises:
So marreth what he makes, and praising most, dispraises.
P. Fletcher: The Purple Island, canto vii. [back]