Quote#Wisdom
Of right and wrong he taught
Quote byJohn Armstrong · 1709–1779
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: The Art of Preserving Health (1744), Book IV, line 301.
English (original)
Of right and wrong he taught Truths as refined as ever Athens heard; And (strange to tell) he practis'd what he preach'd.
— John Armstrong
More from John Armstrong
This restless world Is full of chances, which by habit's power To learn to bear is easier than to shun.
'Tis not for mortals always to be blest.
Weak withering age no rigid law forbids, With frugal nectar, smooth and slow with balm, The sapless habit daily to bedew, And give the hesitating wheels of life Gliblier to play.
There are, while human miseries abound, A thousand ways to waste superfluous wealth, Without one fool or flatterer at your board, Without one hour of sickness or disgust.
How happy he whose toil Has o'er his languid pow'rless limbs diffus'd A pleasing lassitude; he not in vain Invokes the gentle Deity of dreams. His pow'rs the most voluptuously dissolve In soft repose; on him the balmy dews
Music exalts each joy, allays each grief, Expels diseases, softens every pain, Subdues the rage of poison, and the plague.