413

Lucidity is a due distribution of light and shade.' _Hamann_.

414

A man who has no acquaintance with foreign languages knows nothing of
his own.

415

We must remember that there are many men who, without being productive,
are anxious to say something important, and the results are most
curious.

416

Deep and earnest thinkers are in a difficult position with regard to the
public.

417

Some books seem to have been written, not to teach us anything, but to
let us know that the author has known something.

418

An author can show no greater respect for his public than by never
bringing it what it expects, but what he himself thinks right and proper
in that stage of his own and others' culture in which for the time he
finds himself.

419

The so-called Nature-poets are men of active talent, with a fresh
stimulus and reaction from an over-cultured, stagnant, mannered epoch of
art. They cannot avoid commonplace.

420

Productions are now possible which, without being bad, have no value.
They have no value, because they contain nothing; and they are not bad,
because a general form of good-workmanship is present to the author's
mind.

421

All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in
some particulars a little unintelligible.

422

A romance is a subjective epic in which the author begs leave to treat
the world after his own ideas. The only question is, whether he has any
ideas; the rest will follow of itself.

423

Subjective or so-called sentimental poetry has now been admitted to an
equality with objective and descriptive. This was inevitable; because
otherwise the whole of modern poetry would have to be discarded. It is
now obvious that when men of truly poetical genius appear, they will
describe more of the particular feelings of the inner life than of the
general facts of the great life of the world. This has already taken
place to such a degree that we have a poetry without figures of speech,
which can by no means be refused all praise.

424

Superstition is the poetry of life, and so it does not hurt the poet to
be superstitious.

425

That glorious hymn, _Veni Creator Spiritus_, is really an appeal to
genius. That is why it speaks so powerfully to men of intellect and
power.

426

Translators are like busy match-makers: they sing the praises of some
half-veiled beauty, and extol her charms, and arouse an irresistible
longing for the original