Oh you who are born of the blood of the gods, Trojan son of Anchises, easy is the descent to read more

Oh you who are born of the blood of the gods, Trojan son of Anchises, easy is the descent to Hell; the door of dark Dis stands open day and night. But to retrace your steps and come out to the air above, that is work, that is labor! - Aeneid, The.

Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of a man -- the biography of the man himself cannot be written.

Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of a man -- the biography of the man himself cannot be written.

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.

Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and read more

Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.

If someone had told me I would be Pope one day, I would have studied harder.

If someone had told me I would be Pope one day, I would have studied harder.

We cultivate literature on a little oat-meal.

We cultivate literature on a little oat-meal.

Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness.

Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness.

But, indeed, we prefer books to pounds; and we love manuscripts
better than florins; and we prefer small pamphlets read more

But, indeed, we prefer books to pounds; and we love manuscripts
better than florins; and we prefer small pamphlets to war horses.

I would live to study, and not study to live.

I would live to study, and not study to live.