We cannot of ourselves estimate the degree of our success in what we strive for.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonNever get a reputation for a small perfection if you are trying for fame in a loftier area. The world can only judge by generals, and it sees that those who pay considerable attention to minutiae seldom have their minds occupied with great things.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonIn some exquisite critical hints on "Eurythmy," Goethe remarks, "that the best composition in pictures is that which, observing the most delicate laws of harmony, so arranges the objects that they by their position tell their own story." And the rule thus applied to composition in painting applies no less to composition in literature.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton