"Hardly at all."
"Well, read all that those three men have written. When you have read them, re-read them; when you have re-read them, learn them by heart."
"And next?"
"Oh! next?... You will pass from them to those who preceded them—from Æschylus to Sophocles, from Sophocles to Euripides, from Euripides to Seneca, from Seneca to Racine, from Racine to Voltaire, and from Voltaire to Chénier, in the realms of tragedy. Thus you will understand the transformation that altered a race of eagles into a race of parroquets."
"And from Shakespeare to whom shall I turn?"
"From Shakespeare to Schiller."
"And from Schiller?"
"To no one."
"But Ducis?"
"Oh, don't confound Schiller with Ducis. Schiller is inspired, Ducis imitates; Schiller remains original, Ducis became a copyist, and a poor copyist."