Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot Quotes by Alexander Pope: Context & Meanings

An Epistle from Mr. Pope to Dr. Arbuthnot (1735 first-edition scan), printed page 15 / scan leaf 21, line 297. “Who breaks a Butterfly upon a Wheel?” occurs inside the hostile “Paris” / Lord Hervey satire and questions disproportionate punishment. The first edition capitalizes “Butterfly” and “Wheel”; the frozen catalog capitalization is normalized, and the personal/polemical context remains explicit.

An Epistle from Mr. Pope to Dr. Arbuthnot (1735 first-edition scan), printed page 8 / scan leaf 14, around lines 148–150. After saying Gildon drew his “venal quill,” Pope says he wished him a dinner and did not answer the attack. The first edition reads “sate still,” while the later/normalized Gutenberg #9800 witness underlying the frozen catalog reads “sat still”; this collection wording is retained and the witness variation is disclosed rather than silently rewritten.

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.

An Epistle from Mr. Pope to Dr. Arbuthnot (1735 first-edition scan), printed page 7 / scan leaf 13, lines 128–131. Pope explains that the Muse helped him endure “this long Disease, my Life” and addresses his physician-friend Arbuthnot directly. The frozen catalog lowercases “disease”; this is witness capitalization only. The passage is autobiographical-satirical verse, not medical guidance about illness or resilience.

An Epistle from Mr. Pope to Dr. Arbuthnot (1735 first-edition scan), printed page 11 / scan leaf 17, lines 199–212. “Damn with faint praise” belongs to Pope’s satirical portrait of “Atticus,” conventionally associated with Joseph Addison. It is polemical literary characterization inside Pope’s self-defence, not neutral biography or a general diagnosis of insincere praise.