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The Clown's Reply

By Oliver Goldsmith

Topics: classic

John Trott was desired by two witty peers     To tell them the reason why asses had ears?     'An't please you,' quoth John, 'I'm not given to letters,     Nor dare I pretend to know more than my betters;     Howe'er, from this time I shall ne'er see your graces,     As I hope to be saved! without thinking on asses.'

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Author:Oliver Goldsmith

"John Trott was desired by two witty peers..." by Oliver Goldsmith

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Oliver Goldsmith

About Oliver Goldsmith

Oliver Goldsmith (c. 1728–1774) was an Irish poet, playwright, and novelist. His poems "The Deserted Village" and "An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog" are English classics. His novel "The Vicar of Wakefield" and play "She Stoops to Conquer" remain widely read.

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