John Haynes—Prologue. in Oxford and Cambridge Miscellany Poems. Ed. by Elijah Fenton.
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When Poets' plots in plays are damn'd for spite, They critics turn and damn the rest that write.

— John Hay on Criticism

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "When Poets' plots in plays are damn'd for spite, They critics turn and damn the rest that write." in the context of "John Haynes—Prologue. in Oxford and Cambridge Miscellany Poems. Ed. by Elijah Fenton." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Criticism" (Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations: Quotes reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 149-52.) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
John Hay

About John Hay

John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838 – July 1, 1905) was an American statesman, diplomat, author, journalist, and private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln. He served as United States Secretary of State from 1898 to 1905 under presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.