John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
4555 William Cowper 1731-1800 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 4555 |
| AUTHOR: | William Cowper (1731–1800) |
| QUOTATION: | The man that hails you Tom or Jack, And proves, by thumping on your back, 1 His sense of your great merit, 2 Is such a friend that one had need Be very much his friend indeed To pardon or to bear it. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | On Friendship. |
| Note 1. See Young, Quotation 80. [back] |
| Note 2. Var. How he esteems your merit. [back] |