There is a great difference, whether the poet seeks the particular for the sake of the general or sees the general in the particular. From the former procedure there ensues allegory, in which the particular serves only as illustration, as example of the general. The latter procedure, however, is genuinely the nature of poetry; it expresses something particular, without thinking of the general or pointing to it.
Johann Wolfgang von GoetheI have always paid attention to the merits of my enemies, and found it an advantage.
Johann Wolfgang von GoetheDon't say that you want to give, but go ahead and give! You'll never catch up with a mere hope.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe