Literary success of any enduring kind is made by refusing to do what publishers want, by refusing to write what the public wants, by refusing to accept any popular standard, by refusing to write anything to order.
Lafcadio HearnIt has been wisely observed by the greatest of modern thinkers that mankind has progressed more rapidly in every other respect than in morality.
Lafcadio HearnThe time of illusion, then, is the beautiful moment of passion; it represents the artistic zone in which the poet or romance writer ought to be free to do the very best that he can.
Lafcadio HearnThe proverbial philosophy of a people helps us to understand more about them than any other kind of literature.
Lafcadio HearnI may venture to say, loosely, that in Judo there is a sort of counter for every twist, wrench, pull, push or bend. Only the Judo expert does not oppose such movements at all. No, he yields to them. But he does much more than yield to them. He aids them with a wicked sleight that causes the assailant to put out his own shoulder, to fracture his own arm, or in a desparate case, even to break his own neck or back.
Lafcadio Hearn