John Dryden

Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent.
It takes a touch of genius--and a lot read more

Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent.
It takes a touch of genius--and a lot of courage--to move in the
opposite direction.

They who write ill, and they who ne'er durst write,
Turn critics out of mere revenge and spite.

They who write ill, and they who ne'er durst write,
Turn critics out of mere revenge and spite.

Stiff in opinion, always in the wrong.

Stiff in opinion, always in the wrong.

For who can be secure of private right,
If sovereign sway may be dissolved by might?
Nor read more

For who can be secure of private right,
If sovereign sway may be dissolved by might?
Nor is the people's judgment always true:
The most may err as grossly as the few.

Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow;
He who would search for pearls, must dive below.

Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow;
He who would search for pearls, must dive below.