Bold knaves thrive without one grain of sense,
But good men starve for want of impudence." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
Constantine the Great (1684), Epilogue
“

Bold knaves thrive without one grain of sense,
But good men starve for want of impudence.

— John Dryden

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Bold knaves thrive without one grain of sense,
But good men starve for want of impudence." in the context of "Constantine the Great (1684), Epilogue" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "John Dryden" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#John Dryden#impudence#sensebut#without#knaves#thrive#starve#grain#bold#men
John Dryden

About John Dryden

John Dryden (19 August O.S. 9 August 1631 – 12 May O.S. 1 May 1700) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate.