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Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, And without sneering, teach the rest to… — Alexander Pope

Poem

Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer; Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike, Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.

Alexander Pope
1735
★ 1.9
Other tags relating to this quote
Topic
Being passive aggressiveCriticism
Medium
Poem
Time
1735Age of Enlightenment
Person
Alexander Pope
Provenance
Current citation
Pope, Alexander. "An Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot." Alexander Pope: The Major Works, edited by Pat Rogers. Oxford University Press, 2009, I. 201-205.
Original citation
Pope, Alexander. "An Epistle from Mr. Pope to Dr. Arbuthnot; or Prologue to the Satires." 1735, I. 201-205.

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