We are as much informed of a writer's genius by what he selects as by what he originates.
Ralph Waldo EmersonIn every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.
Ralph Waldo EmersonAll writing is by the grace of God. People do not deserve to have good writing, they are so pleased with bad. In these sentences that you show me, I can find no beauty, for I see death in every clause and every word. There is a fossil or a mummy character which pervades this book. The best sepulchers, the vastest catacombs, Thebes and Cairo, Pyramids, are sepulchers to me. I like gardens and nurseries. Give me initiative, spermatic, prophesying, man-making words.
Ralph Waldo Emerson