The mortal sickness of a mind too unhappy to be kind.

But men at whiles are sober And think by fits and starts. And if they think, they fasten Their hands upon their hearts

The average man, if he meddles with criticism at all, is a conservative critic.

On Wenlock Edge the wood's in trouble;His forest fleece the Wrekin heaves;The wind it plies the saplings double, And thick on Severn snow the leaves.

I do not choose the right word, I get rid of the wrong one.

To be a textual critic requires aptitude for thinking and willingness to think; and though it also requires other things, those things are supplements and cannot be substitutes. Knowledge is good, method is good, but one thing beyond all others is necessary; and that is to have a head, not a pumpkin, on your shoulders and brains, not pudding, in your head.

Poetry is not the thing said, but the way of saying it.