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John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.

3419 Alexander Pope 1688-1744 John Bartlett

 
NUMBER:3419
AUTHOR:Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
QUOTATION:Behold the child, by Nature’s kindly law,
Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw;
Some livelier plaything gives his youth delight,
A little louder, but as empty quite;
Scarfs, garters, gold, amuse his riper stage,
And beads and prayer-books are the toys of age.
Pleased with this bauble still, as that before,
Till tired he sleeps, and life’s poor play is o’er.
ATTRIBUTION:Essay on Man. Epistle ii. Line 274.