A fly, Sir, may sting a stately horse and make him wince; but, one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still.
In James Boswell 'The Life of Samuel Johnson' (1791) vol. 1, p. 263, n. 3 (1754)
A fly, Sir, may sting a stately horse and make him wince; but, one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still.