"Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it—whole-heartedly—and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings."

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“The best is the best, though a hundred judges have declared it so; nor had it been any feat to search out and insert the second-rate merely because it happened to be recondite.”

“I am mistaken if a single epigram included fails to preserve at least some faint thrill of the emotion through which it had to pass before the Muse's lips let it fall, with however exquisite deliberation.”

“And rather than make the book unwieldy I have eschewed notes—reluctantly when some obscure passage or allusion seemed to ask for a timely word; with more equanimity when the temptation was to criticize or 'appreciate.' For the function of the anthologist includes criticizing in silence.”

Resonant Thoughts

"To all our Lieutenants, Castellains, Captains, Condottieri, Officers, Soldiers and Subjects, to whom these presents may be known, we commit and command that to our Most Excellent and Most Beloved Priv…"

— Cesare Borgia

Religion1476–1507

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"Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it — my music, I know I will live forever."

— Michael Jackson

Music1942–2007

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"The moral choices that Trump poses to anyone with a conscience or love of country are only made more clear by the ludicrous irony of his own story."

— Richard Wolffe

Journalism1968

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"The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a glowing depth, beauty, and joy as the years increase. This inner progres…"

— Hugh Walpole

Literature1894–1941

#love