“Better one suffer, than a nation grieve.”

— John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel (1681), Part I

About John Dryden

1631 – 1700

English poet and playwright, the first Poet Laureate of England.

“Beware the fury of a patient man.”

“Whatever is, is in its causes just.”

“Genius must be born, and never can be taught.”

“All becoming and growing—all that guarantees a future—involves pain.”

“The superior man thinks of virtue; the small man thinks of comfort.”

“Let us forget and forgive injuries.”

“The time for the healing of the wounds has come.”

“Pass by us, and forgive us our happiness.”

“On our earth we can only love with suffering and through suffering.”