Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“A lash like mine no honest man shall dread,”
- Source
- Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot
- Date
- 1735
Meaning of “A lash like mine no honest man shall…”
Pope’s satirical persona claims that his criticism is aimed at vice or folly rather than honest conduct, presenting moral discrimination as the defense of satire.
Where does it come from?
An Epistle from Mr. Pope to Dr. Arbuthnot (1735 first-edition scan), printed page 15 / scan leaf 21, lines 292–293. “A Lash like mine no honest man shall dread” states Pope’s own defence of satire immediately before the attack on “Paris” / Lord Hervey. The first edition capitalizes “Lash”; the frozen catalog lowercase is normalized orthography.
