Private faces in public places Are wiser and nicer Than public faces in private places.

Weep for the lives your wishes never led.

Rhymes, meters, stanza forms, etc., are like servants. If the master is fair enough to win their affection and firm enough to command their respect, the result is an orderly happy household. If he is too tyrannical, they give notice; if he lacks authority, they become slovenly, impertinent, drunk and dishonest.

Music can be made anywhere, is invisible and does not smell.

Goodness is easier to recognize than to define.

The true men of action in our time those who transform the world are not the politicians and statesmen but the scientists. Unfortunately poetry cannot celebrate them because their deeds are concerned with things, not persons, and are therefore speechless. When I find myself in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate who has strayed by mistake into a drawing room full of dukes.

The most exciting rhythms seem unexpected and complex, the most beautiful melodies simple and inevitable.