“Be subtle, various, ornamental, clever,And do not listen to those critics everWhose crude provincial gullets crave in booksPlain cooking made still plainer by plain cooks.”

“Like everyone else, I have my black list of unfavorite authors and critics, and among intimate friends I sometimes say exactly what I think of them, but I have the feeling that to express my opinions publicly would be in bad taste, that, to people whom one does not know personally, one should speak only of the authors and critics one is fond of. I find reading savage reviews like reading pornography; though I often enjoy them, I feel a bit ashamed of myself for doing so. Still, I must admit that I find Nietzsche's list of his "impracticals" great fun.”

“The critical opinions of a writer should always be taken with a large grain of salt. For the most part, they are manifestations of his debate with himself as to what he should do next and what he should avoid.”

“For the error bred in the bone of each woman and each man craves what it cannot have, not universal love but to be loved alone.”

“The Ogre does what ogres can,Deeds quite impossible for Man,But one prize is beyond his reach:The Ogre cannot master speech.About a subjugated plain,Among its desperate and slain,The Ogre stalks with hands on hips,While drivel gushes from his lips.”

“Those who will not reason, perish in the act. Those who will not act, perish for that reason.”

“But round your image there is no fog, and the Earthcan still astonish.”