Literature is the orchestration of platitudes.

Literature is the orchestration of platitudes.

A poet in history is divine, but a poet in the next room is a joke.

A poet in history is divine, but a poet in the next room is a joke.

Beneath the rule of men entirely great, / The pen is mightier than the sword.

Beneath the rule of men entirely great, / The pen is mightier than the sword.

All that non-fiction can do is answer questions. It's fiction's business to ask them.

All that non-fiction can do is answer questions. It's fiction's business to ask them.

After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known quotations.

After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known quotations.

Literary Men are . . . a perpetual priesthood.

Literary Men are . . . a perpetual priesthood.

In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.

In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.

It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.

It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.

This book fills a much-needed gap.

This book fills a much-needed gap.