Accuse not nature, she hath done her part;Do thou but thine, and be not diffidentOf wisdom, she deserts thee not, read more

Accuse not nature, she hath done her part;Do thou but thine, and be not diffidentOf wisdom, she deserts thee not, if thouDismiss not her, when most thou needest her nigh,By attributing overmuch to thingsLess excellent, as thou thyself perceivest. - Paradise Lost.

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.

Yet ah! why should they know their fate?Since sorrow never comes too late,And happiness too swiftly flies.Thought would destroy their read more

Yet ah! why should they know their fate?Since sorrow never comes too late,And happiness too swiftly flies.Thought would destroy their paradise.No more; where ignorance is bliss,'Tis folly to be wise. - Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College.

The republic of letters.
[Fr., La republique des lettres.]

The republic of letters.
[Fr., La republique des lettres.]

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.

Only two classes of books are of universal appeal. The very best and the very worst.

Only two classes of books are of universal appeal. The very best and the very worst.

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 read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have read more

We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have suffered the pain of loss, and the more wearing, continuous pain of frustration and failure; and have had moods of unlooked-for release and peace. They have known and watched in themselves and others.

The schoolmaster is abroad! And I trust to him armed with his primer against the soldier in full military array.

The schoolmaster is abroad! And I trust to him armed with his primer against the soldier in full military array.