Only those things are beautiful which are inspired by madness and written by reason.

Only those things are beautiful which are inspired by madness and written by reason.

First he wrought, and afterward he taught.

First he wrought, and afterward he taught.

Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness.

Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness.

I can find my biography in every fable that I read.

I can find my biography in every fable that I read.

Accuse not nature, she hath done her part;Do thou but thine, and be not diffidentOf wisdom, she deserts thee not, read more

Accuse not nature, she hath done her part;Do thou but thine, and be not diffidentOf wisdom, she deserts thee not, if thouDismiss not her, when most thou needest her nigh,By attributing overmuch to thingsLess excellent, as thou thyself perceivest. - Paradise Lost.

Beauty is but a flower,Which wrinkles will devour;Brightness falls from the air;Queens have died young and fair;Dust hath closed Helen's read more

Beauty is but a flower,Which wrinkles will devour;Brightness falls from the air;Queens have died young and fair;Dust hath closed Helen's eye.I am sick, I must die;Lord have mercy on us. - Song in Time of Pestilence.

In our day the conventional element in literature is elaborately disguised by a law of copyright pretending that every work read more

In our day the conventional element in literature is elaborately disguised by a law of copyright pretending that every work of art is an invention distinctive enough to be patented.

Literature is a power to be possessed, not a body of objects to be studied.

Literature is a power to be possessed, not a body of objects to be studied.

A poet in history is divine, but a poet in the next room is a joke.

A poet in history is divine, but a poet in the next room is a joke.