Quote#Truth
Great Negative, how vainly would the Wise
Quote byJohn Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester · 1647–1680
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Poems on Several Occasions (c. 1680), Upon Nothing, ll. 28–33.
English (original)
Great Negative, how vainly would the Wise Enquire, define, distinguish, teach, devise, Didst thou not stand to point their dull Philosophies?Is, or is not, the Two great Ends of Fate, And, true or false, the Subject of Debate, That perfect, or destroy, the vast Designs of Fate.
— John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
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