The world is ruled by the subordinates, not by their chiefs.—Charles Buxton.
Authors.—Authors may be divided into falling stars, planets, and fixed stars: the first have a momentary effect. The second have a much longer duration. But the third are unchangeable, possess their own light, and work for all time.—Schopenhaufer.
Satire lies about men of letters during their lives, and eulogy after their death.—Voltaire.
It is commonly the personal character of a writer which gives him his public significance. It is not imparted by his genius. Napoleon said of Corneille, "Were he living I would make him a king;" but he did not read him. He read Racine, yet he said nothing of the kind of Racine. It is for the same reason that La Fontaine is held in such high esteem among the French. It is not for his worth as a poet, but for the greatness of his character which obtrudes in his writings.—Goethe.
Choose an author as you choose a friend.—Roscommon.
Herder and Schiller both in their youth intended to study as surgeons, but Destiny said: "No, there are deeper wounds than those of the body,—heal the deeper!" and they wrote.—Richter.
A woman who writes commits two sins: she increases the number of books, and decreases the number of women.—Alphonse Karr.
Thanks and honor to the glorious masters of the pen.—Hood.
The society of dead authors has this advantage over that of the living: they never flatter us to our faces, nor slander us behind our backs, nor intrude upon our privacy, nor quit their shelves until we take them down.—Colton.
Clear writers, like clear fountains, do not seem so deep as they are, the turbid looks most profound.—Landor.