There is no book so bad...that it does not have something good in it.
God who sends the wound sends the medicine.
There is also this benefit in brag, that the speaker is unconsciously expressing his own ideal. Humor him by all means, draw it all out, and hold him to it.
The wise hand does not all the tongue dictates.
Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world
Men of great talents, whether poets or historians, seldom escape the attacks of those who, without ever favoring the world with any production of their own, take delight in criticising the works of others.