“Fundamental accuracy of statement is the ONE sole morality of writing.”

“Any general statement is like a cheque drawn on a bank. Its value depends on what is there to meet it.”

“The thought of what America would be likeIf the Classics had a wide circulationTroubles my sleep (Cantico del Sole)”

“It is difficult to write a paradiso when all the superficial indications are that you ought to write an apocalypse.”

“The critic who doesn't make a personal statement, in remeasurements he himself has made, is merely an unreliable critic. He is not a measurer but a repeater of other men's results. KRINO, to pick out for oneself, to choose. That's what the word means.”

“If anybody ever shuts you in Indiana...and you don't at least write some unconstrained something or other, I give up hope for your salvation.”

“I have tried to write ParadiseDo not moveLet the wind speakthat is paradise.Let the Gods forgive what Ihave madeLet those I love try to forgivewhat I have made.”