John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
2506 John Milton 1608-1674 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 2506 |
| AUTHOR: | John Milton (1608–1674) |
| QUOTATION: | But all was false and hollow; though his tongue Dropp’d manna, and could make the worse appear The better reason, 1 to perplex and dash Maturest counsels. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Paradise Lost. Book ii. Line 112. |
| Note 1. Aristophanes turns Socrates into ridicule…as making the worse appear the better reason.—Diogenes Laertius: Socrates, v. [back] |