In the marginalia ... we talk only to ourselves; we therefore talk freshly - boldly - originally - with abandonment - without conceit.
Edgar Allan PoeWere I called on to define, very briefly, the term Art, I should call it 'the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the soul.' The mere imitation, however accurate, of what is in Nature, entitles no man to the sacred name of 'Artist.'
Edgar Allan PoePhilosophers have often held dispute As to the seat of thought in man and brute For that the power of thought attends the latter My friend, thy beau, hath made a settled matter, And spite of dogmas current in all ages, One settled fact is better than ten sages. (O,Tempora! O,Mores!)
Edgar Allan PoeThat man is not truly brave who is afraid either to seem or to be, when it suits him, a coward.
Edgar Allan PoeOne morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree; โ hung it with the tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest remorse at my heart; โ hung it because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offence; โ hung it because I knew that in so doing I was committing a sin โ a deadly sin that would so jeopardize my immortal soul as to place it โ if such a thing were possible โ even beyond the reach of the infinite mercy of the Most Merciful and Most Terrible God.
Edgar Allan Poe