Jane borrow'd maxims from a doubting school,
And took for truth the test of ridicule;
Lucy saw read more

Jane borrow'd maxims from a doubting school,
And took for truth the test of ridicule;
Lucy saw no such virtue in a jest,
Truth was with her of ridicule the test.

Ridicule is generally made use of to laugh men out of virtue and good sense, by attacking everything praiseworthy in read more

Ridicule is generally made use of to laugh men out of virtue and good sense, by attacking everything praiseworthy in human life.

We have oftener than once endeavoured to attach some meaning to
that aphorism, vulgarly imputed to Shaftesbury, which however read more

We have oftener than once endeavoured to attach some meaning to
that aphorism, vulgarly imputed to Shaftesbury, which however we
can find nowhere in his works, that "ridicule is the test of
truth."

How comes it to pass, then, that we appear such cowards in
reasoning, and are so afraid to stand read more

How comes it to pass, then, that we appear such cowards in
reasoning, and are so afraid to stand the test of ridicule?
- Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury,

And took for truth the test of ridicule.

And took for truth the test of ridicule.

It frequently happens that where the second line is sublime, the
third, in which he meant to rise still read more

It frequently happens that where the second line is sublime, the
third, in which he meant to rise still higher, is perfectly
bombast.

Scoff not at the natural defects of any which are not in their power to amend. It is cruel to read more

Scoff not at the natural defects of any which are not in their power to amend. It is cruel to beat a cripple with his own crutches!

Ridicule has historically proven itself a rickety fence for great ideas.

Ridicule has historically proven itself a rickety fence for great ideas.

One does not lash what lies at a distance. The foibles that we ridicule must at least be a little read more

One does not lash what lies at a distance. The foibles that we ridicule must at least be a little bit our own. Only then will the work be a part of our own flesh. The garden must be weeded.