Our poetry in the eighteenth century was prose; our prose in the
seventeenth, poetry.

Our poetry in the eighteenth century was prose; our prose in the
seventeenth, poetry.

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.

Beneath the rule of men entirely great, / The pen is mightier than the sword.

Beneath the rule of men entirely great, / The pen is mightier than the sword.

All literature is political.

All literature is political.

A novel is a mirror carried along a main road.

A novel is a mirror carried along a main road.

From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down I was convulsed with laughter. Some day read more

From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it.

In the history of literature there are many great enduring works which were not published in the lifetimes of the read more

In the history of literature there are many great enduring works which were not published in the lifetimes of the authors. If the authors had not achieved self-affirmation while writing, how could they have continued to write? - Nobel Lecture 2000.

Arrogance, pedantry, and dogmatism... the occupational diseases of those who spend their lives directing the intellects of the young.

Arrogance, pedantry, and dogmatism... the occupational diseases of those who spend their lives directing the intellects of the young.

Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness.

Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness.