PRETENSION
Reading edition
Pretension is a kind of velvet cloak I wear to hide my real self from view, And yet where'er I meet with other folk I always find they wear this garment too. Pretension is a kind of golden veil Behind whose mesh I seek to hide my face, And yet where'er I go I never fail To see that others wear it too with grace. Pretension is a thing I say I hate In both myself and in my dearest friend, And yet whene'er I slyly watch and wait I find in some regard we all pretend. —Ernest Powell.
Where there is much pretension, much has been borrowed: Nature never pretends.—Lavater.
When half-gods go, the gods arrive.—Emerson.