But those who have ne’er end with only one.
And in some observations upon an article in Blackwood’s Magazine, he says,—
Writing grows a habit, like a woman’s gallantry. There are women who have had no intrigue, but few who have had but one only: so there are millions of men who have never written a book, but few who have written only one.
This idea is also borrowed from La Rochefoucauld:—
On peut trouver des femmes qui n’ont jamais eu de galanterie; mais il est rare d’en trouver qui n’en aient jamais eu qu’une.—Max. 73.
A thousand years scarce serve to form a state,
An hour may lay it in the dust.—Byron: Childe Harold.
Cento si richieggono ad edificare; un solo basta per distruggere tutto.—Muratori’s Annals.