In addition to English, at least one ancient language, probably Greek or Hebrew, and two modern languages would be required.

A poet, qua poet, has only one political duty, namely, in his own writing to set an example of the correct use of his mother tongue, which is always being corrupted. When words lose their meaning, physical force takes over.

Shall memory restore The steps and the shore, The face and the meeting place.

Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered.

The most important truths are likely to be those which society at that time least wants to hear.

Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as it should be. But no man is perpetually in a passion and those states in which he is amused and amusing, detached and irreverent, if less important, are no less amusing. If there were no poets who, like Byron, express these states, Poetry would lack something.

A person incapable of imaging another world than given to him by his senses would be subhuman, and a person who identifies his imaginary world with the world of sensory fact has become insane.