Only those things are beautiful which are inspired by madness and written by reason.

Only those things are beautiful which are inspired by madness and written by reason.

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.

When the waves are round me breaking,As I pace the deck alone,And my eye in vain is seekingSome green leaf read more

When the waves are round me breaking,As I pace the deck alone,And my eye in vain is seekingSome green leaf to rest upon;What would not I give to wanderWhere my old companions dwell?Absence makes the heart grow fonder,Isle of Beauty, fare thee well! - Paradise Lost.

A novel is a mirror carried along a main road.

A novel is a mirror carried along a main road.

Literature is the immortality of speech.

Literature is the immortality of speech.

Woe to him who teaches men faster than they can learn.

Woe to him who teaches men faster than they can learn.

Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a losttradition.

Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a losttradition.

Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of a man -- the biography of the man himself cannot be written.

Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of a man -- the biography of the man himself cannot be written.

A great literature is chiefly the product of inquiring minds in revolt against the immovable certainties of the nation.

A great literature is chiefly the product of inquiring minds in revolt against the immovable certainties of the nation.