“Absent or dead, still let a friend be dear.”

— Alexander Pope, "Epistle to Robert, Earl of Oxford" (1721)

About Alexander Pope

1688 – 1744

English poet, author of "An Essay on Criticism" and "The Rape of the Lock".

“To err is human, to forgive divine.”

“Men must be taught as if you taught them not, and things unknown propos'd as things forgot.”

“Years following years steal something ev'ry day. At last they steal us from ourselves away.”

“How wonderful is Death, Death and his brother Sleep!”

“Death, like generation, is a secret of Nature.”

“No hour of life is lost that is spent in the saddle.”

“A witticism is an epigram on the death of a feeling.”

“If you would keep your Secret from an enemy, tell it not to a friend.”

“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”