There patient show'd us the wise course to steer

Quote byThomas Tickell · 1685–1740

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: On the Death of Mr. Addison (1721), line 81. Compare: "He who should teach men to die, would at the same time teach them to live", Michel de Montaigne, Essay, book i. chap. ix.; "I have taught you, my dear flock, for above thirty years how to live; and I will show you in a very short time how to die.

English (original)

There patient show'd us the wise course to steer, A candid censor, and a friend severe; There taught us how to live; and (oh! too high The price for knowledge) taught us how to die.

— Thomas Tickell